Russian lawmakers propose to extend ‘gay propaganda’ law to all adults

Law enforcement officers block off participants of the ‘X St. Petersburg Pride’ LGBT community rally in central St. Petersburg, Russia August 3, 2019. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) – Russian lawmakers have proposed extending a ban on promoting “non-traditional” sex to minors to also include adults, a senior lawmaker said on Monday.

Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, passed in 2013, has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain gay rights activists.

Authorities say they are defending morality in the face of what they see as liberal anti-Russian values ​​promoted by the West, but human rights activists say the law has been widely applied to intimidate the community LGBT from Russia.

Under the proposed changes, any event or act considered an attempt to promote homosexuality could incur a fine.

“We propose to broaden the ban on such propaganda across all age groups (offline, in the media, on the internet, social media and online cinemas) generally,” the official said. head of the State Duma Information Committee, Alexander Khinshtein. on his social media channel Telegram.

Parliament Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said last week that since Russia had left the Council of Europe’s human rights watchdog after sending troops to Ukraine, it would now be able to prohibit the promotion of “non-traditional values”.

“Demands to legalize same-sex marriages in Russia are a thing of the past,” he said. “Attempts to impose alien values ​​on our society have failed.”

Homosexuality was a criminal offense in Russia until 1993 and classified as a mental illness until 1999.

President Vladimir Putin has aligned himself closely with the Orthodox Church – which rejects same-sex relationships – and integrated his social conservatism into a narrative of Russian political and cultural revival that is now also used to help justify the invasion of Russia. ‘Ukraine.

A new constitution promulgated in 2020 that extended presidential terms also defines marriage exclusively as the union of a man and a woman.

In a ranking of the most LGBT-friendly European nations in this year’s “Rainbow Europe” index compiled by ILGA-Europe, Russia came third from last.

Reuters reporting; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Nick Macfie

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