Pathetic thugs cover rainbow crossing with black paint: ‘These people are terrorists in plain sight’
A police investigation has been launched after a group of people were filmed painting over a rainbow-coloured crosswalk in Vilnius, Lithuania on 31 May 2021. (Facebook/Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius)
Authorities in Lithuania have launched an investigation after a group of people were filmed painting over a rainbow-coloured crossing in the country’s capital.
Euronews reported the incident took place on Monday (31 May) – just a day before Pride Month began. The minute-long video, which has been posted on Facebook, shows four people using black spray paint to cover up a rainbow crossing in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The individuals kept painting the crosswalk despite pedestrians trying to use the walkway. At one point in the video, cars and motorcycles swerve around the individuals to pass through the crossing.
Openly gay Lithuanian MP Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, a member of the progressive Freedom Party, shared the video on his official Facebook page. He wrote: “These people are terrorists in plain sight.”
Police in Lithuania told Euronews that they have “initiated two proceedings for a minor violation of public order”. However, the authorities said they cannot comment any further as the investigation is still ongoing.
The Vilnius city council said in a statement to Euronews that they would repaint the rainbow-coloured crossing and vowed to “bill the people who painted it black”. It added: “Vilnius loves everybody and supports everybody.”
The incident comes just days after a bill that would have allowed civil unions for same-sex couples failed to pass its initial vote in the Lithuanian parliament. The bill needed 65 votes to move forward. But it narrowly missed the mark after only 63 MPs voted in favour and 58 against on 25 May, according to Euronews.
Euronews reported that the legislation had sought to allow same-sex unions, give LGBT+ couples access to joint ownership of property and allow queer partners inheritance rights. But it didn’t cover adoption rights.
Raskevičius told Reuters in December that he hoped the country would be able to legalise same-sex unions in 2021. However, he acknowledged that there are members of the centre-right Homeland Union who had “already declared they are not going to vote for it”.
Currently, Lithuania has no legal recognition for same-sex relationships. The Lithuanian constitution states that “marriage shall be concluded upon the free mutual consent of a man and a woman”.
