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- A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women.

Three islanders from Lesbos — home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women — have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name.

One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

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See Full MSNBC article here

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"Hi, my name is Paul and I'm a lesbian," read a banner carried by another member of the Greek diaspora who came to support the islanders' cause.

OLKE's (Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece) lawyer Themistoklis Kefalas, himself a Lesbos resident, countered that his own daughter never had a problem with the name.

"The term has been in use at least since the eighteenth century," he said.

The court's decision is expected in around a month

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See full Herald article here

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One of the plaintiffs said Wednesday that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians

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I think this has more to do with a right wing backlash against same-sex marriage.

This month, the Socialist Mayor, Anastassios Aliferis, of the Island of Tilos registered Greece's first same-sex marriages wedding two men and two women. Greek gay rights groups have noted a loophole in a 1982 law that does not specify that a civil union must involve a man and woman.

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“It’s done, now,” the mayor, Anastassios Aliferis, said in a telephone interview. “The unions have been registered, and the licenses have been issued. It’s a historic moment.”

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