Openly Gay Football Player, Marcus Urban Gets Political

Euro 2012: Germany's First Openly Gay Pro Football Player Calls On Merkel to Denounce Anti-Gay Laws in Ukraine - Scheduled for Vote in 2 Weeks

Two days before the kick off of Euro 2012, All Out members are joining with the first openly gay professional football player in Germany, Marcus Urban, in urging Merkel to use the Euro 2012 to denounce human rights violations and the anti-gay crackdown happening now in Ukraine.

"We just learned that the anti-gay law is now scheduled for vote in two weeks, said Olena Shevchenko, Chair of the Ukrainian LGBT organization Insight. In a move to make it illegal for anyone in Ukraine to say the word "gay" in public, this anti-gay law - Law 8711 - is advancing through the Ukrainian Parliament, with no public opposition from the highest level of Ukrainian authorities."

The letter from Marcus Urban and signed by almost 20,000 All Out members reads "Chancellor Merkel, as Ukraine's key trade partner, you should give Yanukovych a "red card" by refusing to attend this month's Euro Cup and strongly urging him to denounce the laws in his Parliament that want to make saying "gay" illegal."

SEE SIGNATURES AND COMMENTS FROM SIGNERS: http://allout.org/euro2012