Group of lesbian protesters removed from Cardiff Pride for ‘causing confrontation’

A group of lesbian protesters at the Cardiff Pride celebrations at the weekend were removed by police for “causing confrontation”.

The group, known as Get The L Out, openly “stand against transgenderism”. They attended the march displaying banners with phrases including “transacitivism erases lesbians” and “lesbians don’t like penises”, causing tension towards members of the transgender community, the Daily Mail reports.

Footage of an interaction between the group and a police officer explaining why they were being removed has been circulating on Twitter and it has caused some controversy.

In the footage, a member of the group can be heard saying: “We’re lesbians, it’s Cardiff Pride.”

To which the officer responds: “At the moment, this group is causing confrontation between different groups of people.”

Some people online are questioning the decision to remove the group, arguing that they have just as much right to march in the parade as any other members of the community.

One user said: “Removing lesbians from Pride because they won’t sit silently and accept their erasure as same-sex attracted women is misogyny”. Others have said the group were “standing up for their rights” and feel “the pride movement no longer supports gay people”.

However, others defended the decision to have the group removed, one person said: “No one hates lesbians, they’re just being openly transphobes, they’re looking for conflict in a parade with the LGBT community, excluding the other members and being rude”.

Another said that this niche group does not represent the views of all lesbians, saying that there were “thousands of lesbians at Cardiff Pride who…notably, did not join them”.

Acknowledging the incident, Chair of Pride Cymru, Gian Molinu, said: “Today’s Pride Cymru parade was all about celebration and LGBTQ+ rights.

“Despite a small group of people interrupting the march, they were drowned out by shouts of solidarity and the community and spectators.

“There is no place for hate at Pride. And as our parade today said loud and clearly, ‘trans rights are human rights’.”

A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “We worked closely with the local authority and Pride Cymru to facilitate a march through Cardiff City Centre on Saturday, 27 August.

“During the event, officers were required to engage with a small protest group who had assembled themselves on the route to block the procession.

“To ensure no further disruption to the event, officers asked the group to move to an alternative location nearby which they agreed to do.

“Officers explained why they needed to move, provided guidance about protesting lawfully and offered to facilitate a lawful protest.

“The group was cooperative and left the area shortly after. Contrary to some social media reports, nobody was arrested or forcibly moved by officers.”

The Tab Cardiff has contacted South Wales Police for further comment.

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