Latvia's foreign minister just came out on Twitter: "I proudly announce I'm gay"

Latvia's foreign minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, publicly revealed that he is gay in a tweet on Thursday:

I proudly announce I'am gay... Good luck all of you...

— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) November 6, 2014

It's real, in case you were wondering: Latvian language site Apollo reported that Rinkēvičs confirmed his account wasn't compromised. Multiple international outlets have also reported the news.

This is significant. According to Marriage Equality USA, Latvia is one of a handful of EU countries with a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. In October, its parliament advanced a bill banning sex ed curricula from teaching that same-sex marriages are equal to opposite-sex marriages, and there are plans for a Russia-style bill banning "gay propaganda" in the works. So a top official like this coming out like this is a major political statement.

Meanwhile, in Latvia's eastern neighbor Russia, mobs with tacit government sanction assault gay citizens at will.

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