Montenegro holds pride march despite opposition from church

By PREDRAG MILIC
Associated Press

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Several hundred people have joined an LGBTQ pride march in Montenegro that was held amid strong opposition from the influential Serbian Orthodox Church in the small conservative Balkan country. Montenegro’s 10th ever pride event on Saturday was dubbed “No more ’buts,” reflecting demands that more be done to stem hate speech and harassment of LGBTQ community despite huge steps that have been made in the past years. Montenegro is highly a conservative and male-dominated society and initial pride marches here were marred with violence. As the country seeks European Union membership, authorities have backed pride events in recent years and approved same-sex partnerships in 2020.