The Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGTB; en, National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals) is the main

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

organisation in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. FELGTB is characterised by demanding

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

, at times through controversial campaigns. Its current chairman is Uge Sangil. In June 2008, the United Nations Economic and Social Council granted consultative status to FELGTB and COC Netherlands.

History

In 1992 the National Federation of Gays and Lesbians (FELG; es, Federación Estatal de Gays y Lesbianas) was founded, at the proposal of the Collective of Gays and Lesbienas of Madrid (COGAM) and other LGBT organisations based in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

following their separation from the historic organisation ''Coordinadora de Frentes de Liberación Homosexual del Estado Español'' (COFLHEE). In time, some groups from different parts of Spain joined the Federation, such as some from

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, but very slowly. It was the late 1990s when some of the main organisations of the country ('' Gehitu'' of the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, ''

Alega Alega ( sm, Ālega) is a village on the southeast coast of Tutuila Island, American Samoa. One of the island's least populous villages, it is located to the east of Pago Pago Harbor and to the west of Faga'itua Bay. Alega lies between Lauli'i, A ...

'' of Cantabria, '' Gamá'' of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and the '' Colectivo Lambda'' of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, among others) joined FELG in an attempt build unity to pressure for the approval of a law recognising common law partnerships. Currently, more than 30 associations of all types compose the FELGT. Beginning in 2003, the FELGT was led by Beatriz Gimeno. Previously, Pedro Zerolo and Armand de Fluviá had occupied that position. In March 2007, Beatriz Gimeno decided to begin collaborating with the university and Antoni Poveda came to hold the position of president of the FELGT. In the same meeting it was decided to add the "B" for

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

to the acronym. 2007 the official name became FELGTB, including bisexual option in the name.

Activism, campaigns, and polemics

The FELGTB demands legal equality and social respect for diversity, is a promoter and convener (along with COGAM) of the national demonstration on the International Day of

LGBT Pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

(June 28), and fosters the training of its member associations' activists. It has presented several controversial campaigns, such as ''VOTA ROSA'' ("VOTE PINK") and ''2004 NO VOTES PP'' ("2004 DON'T VOTE PP"). Beatriz Gimeno justified this last slogan by pointing out the necessity of a political change to "advance our demands". Esperanza Aguirre, in response to this campaign, stated that

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

doesn't necessarily determine political orientation, and noted that she was convinced that "the majority of gays are going to vote for Esperanza, and are going to vote PP".

Ana Botella Ana Botella Serrano (born 23 July 1953) is a Spanish politician belonging to the People's Party and the first female Mayor of Madrid, from December 2011 to June 2015. Biography Early life Born in Madrid on 23 July 1953, she took her basic ...

, number two on the list of the PP in Madrid, limited herself to saying that the demands of the FELGT don't come within the rivalries of the town council. During the negotiation of the same-sex marriage law in Spain, the FELGT criticized the performance of the PP at various times, especially for presenting as an expert the

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

Aquilino Polaino, who claimed that

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

was a

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

. Parallelly, when the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

visited Valencia, the FELGT participated in the '' Jornadas Internacionales de Diversidad Familiar'' (International Conference on Family Diversity) (subsidized by the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs) and signed up for the collective "''Jo no t'espere''" ("I don't wait for you"), which was criticized harshly by the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

media. Some of those organisations tried to take the FELGT to the

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for "the continuous offenses of gay activism". On April 20, 2007, the FELGT described as "incoherent"

Mariano Rajoy Mariano Rajoy Brey (; born 27 March 1955) is a Spanish politician who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 2011 to 2018, when a vote of no confidence ousted his government. On 5 June 2018, he announced his resignation as People's Party lead ...

's declarations about

gay wedding ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

s, since he was claiming that if his son marries a man he will attend his wedding, while his party has appealed the same-sex marriage law as unconstitutional. On April 28, 2007, FELGT launched the campaign ''Ni un céntimo para quien te discrimina'' ("Not one cent for anyone who discriminates against you"), coinciding with the

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

filings, encouraging citizens to mark the "social purposes" box instead of the box designated for the Catholic Church.

References

External links

FELGTB official site

FELGTB FACEBOOK official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Federacion Estatal De Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales Y Bisexuales LGBT political advocacy groups in Spain 1992 establishments in Spain

History

Activism, campaigns, and polemics

See also

References

External links