ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how political activism in the area of gay rights has developed in the Czech Republic since 1989. It uses the term "gay rights" to include rights for the umbrella grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. The chapter develops two conceptual categories that are useful for tracing changes in civil societal mobilization around gay rights advocacy over time: these are the type of activism and the robustness of the activist network. It explores with some brief reflections on the lessons of the Czech case for political activism in contemporary post-communist civil society. The chapter presents some organizing concepts to capture the different organizational forms and mobilizing strategies. It examines the public attitudes toward homosexuality are considerably less intolerant in the Czech Republic than in the rest of post-communist Europe. It also describes the establishment and activities of the Government Subcommittee for Sexual Minorities, which became the primary organized articulation of gay rights activism after 2006.
