Earlier in June, Mr. Putin signed yet another antigay bill, classifying “homosexual propaganda” as pornography. The law is broad and vague, so that any teacher who tells students that homosexuality is not evil, any parents who tell their child that homosexuality is normal, or anyone who makes pro-gay statements deemed accessible to someone underage is now subject to arrest and fines. Even a judge, lawyer or lawmaker cannot publicly argue for tolerance without the threat of punishment.
Finally, it is rumored that Mr. Putin is about to sign an edict that would remove children from their own families if the parents are either gay or lesbian or suspected of being gay or lesbian. The police would have the authority to remove children from adoptive homes as well as from their own biological parents.
I wish people talked about this more. We talk a lot about anti-gay bigotry in Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries, where it undoubtedly does exist, but I wonder how much of the focus on that is driven by the fact that we Other the people living there. Russia is much “closer to home" in many ways, and yet this is rarely talked about.The author of this piece was on the Last Word talking about it in a bit more detail last night. In addition to the immediate dangers and systemic government oppression faced by LGBTQ people in Russia, he mentions the arrest of four Dutch tourists/filmmakers under these laws as well as the danger they additionally pose to anyone traveling to the country for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Because of the culture of the Olympics there’s a tendency and a temptation to gloss over human rights abuses in the host country because of how much of a “downer" it is in light of the glittering majesty of “sport", but the looming closeness of the Olympics also has the potential (through increased media and public attention and boycotts by individual athletes, visiting nations, and tourists) to be used as a tool to pressure Putin and his government towards repealing these laws.
(via slipstreamborne)