Even During War, Ukraine's Zelensky Works to Advance LGBTQ+ Rights
A former standup comedian who became president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky is a Jewish man who has become a global hero for standing up to a tyrant.
Against all odds, Zelensky has led his nation to successfully rebuff the efforts of a world superpower bent on assassinating him and taking political control of his country.In refusing to surrender to Russia, he inspired his fellow Ukrainians (including 90-year-old grandmothers) to take up arms.
His rousing speeches in defense of democracy, peace, and equality have moved the international community to support his cause with billions of dollars of military and humanitarian aid.
His insistence that war crimes be documented in real time (and the power of social media during war time) is forcing us all to confront the horrors that can be committed in the name of nationalism and the whims of a despot.Admittedly, the majority of Ukrainians didn’t support LGBTQ+ rights before the war (according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 69 percent said homosexuality should not be accepted).
