As much of the world is moving forwards on LGBT equality issues and treatment, Russia has just taken a major step backwards this summer.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/putin-signs-%E2%80%98gay-propaganda%E2%80%99-bill-law300613

30 June 2013

Quote :

"Putin signs ‘gay propaganda’ bill into law Russian president has signed the nationwide bill, passed by the State Duma and Senate unanimously, into law. Many gay rights campaigners say it will incite hate crime"

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2013/07/russia-gay-dutch-tourists-arrested-for.html#disqus_thread

Quote :

"RUSSIA: Gay Dutch Tourists Arrested For Violating Homosexual Propaganda Ban URGENT NEWS! In Murmansk city (North Russia) 3 Dutch citizens detained by the police on charges of gay-propaganda."

http://www.towleroad.com/2013/07/gay-tourists-in-russia-face-jail-time-deportation.html

Quote :

"GAY TOURISTS IN RUSSIA FACE JAIL TIME With Russia's new anti-gay "propaganda" ban now in effect thanks to being approved by the Russian Upper House and signed into law by President Putin, travel site Skift now warns that gays traveling to Russia could face being jailed"

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/iceland-cut-ties-russia-over-%E2%80%98gay-propaganda%E2%80%99-law150713

15 July 2013

Quote :

"Iceland to cut ties with Russia over ‘gay propaganda’ law Iceland is to cut ties with Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law banning ‘gay propaganda’."

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2013/07/report-russian-skinheads-use-social.html#disqus_thread

THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013

Quote :

"REPORT: Russian Skinheads Use Social Media To Lure And Torture LGBT Teens ... Captured victims are bullied and often tortured while being recorded on video. These self-proclaimed "crime fighters" perform their actions under the broad day light, often outside and clearly visible to general public that indifferently passes by or even commend them."

http://instinctmagazine.com/post/russian-neo-nazi-groups-tricking-and-torturing-gay-male-teens

Quote :

"One particular torture was recorded by the neo nazis as proof that they had captured a "pedophile" under "Putin's Crackdown." Warning: it's graphic and disturbing due to the teen being "bullied, tortured, and sprayed with urine in broad daylight.""

[Edited on July 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM. Reason : .]

7/25/2013 6:44:56 PM

Why can't people let people be?

I don't approve of a gay lifestyle (yes I know it is something you are born with), but I am not going to go start hunting gays, and if I were a country's leader, I would be very careful about making any statements, let alone passing laws that would only embolden hateful people to go hunting for people they don't like with immunity. That's terrible.

7/25/2013 7:02:14 PM

Putin cites Russian tradition ("The Russian Way") and opposing "the sodomist Western Agenda" as the reason for all this new legislation. Russian orthodox church is a big driver behind all this. So, fuck the Russian way and fuck the church.

And if right-wing Christians are gonna have their way, that shit is coming soon to United States:

http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/2013/07/36450/

Fuck these church nazis, too

[Edited on July 25, 2013 at 7:06 PM. Reason : .]

7/25/2013 7:02:54 PM

Quote :

"I don't approve of a gay lifestyle (yes I know it is something you are born with)"

Then why throw in a word like lifestyle?

7/25/2013 8:49:49 PM

Gay sex, lifestyle, habits, whatever. Gayness.

I don't approve of their actions, but they can do them all they want, and I would never condemn or denounce them, especially never in a position of power.

7/25/2013 9:11:39 PM

Quote :

"I don't approve of a gay lifestyle (yes I know it is something you are born with)"

why

7/25/2013 9:19:38 PM

Does the majority of the Russian populace support this?

7/26/2013 1:48:59 AM

With a name like Putin, I figured he'd enjoy it in the butt

7/26/2013 2:25:31 AM

Quote :

"Does the majority of the Russian populace support this?"

Would that make it any better? Because I'd say that would be worse.

[Edited on July 26, 2013 at 8:10 AM. Reason : .]

7/26/2013 8:05:47 AM

TreeTwista10 just won this thread

Quote :

"Does the majority of the Russian populace support this?"

They do. But remember, majority of voters in teh US once supported slavery, and it didn't make that right either.

7/26/2013 10:03:15 AM

In other more important news, our economy here in the US sucks.

Similarly to the price of rice in China, why do we care about the ways of gays in Russia?

7/26/2013 10:30:23 AM

Because if US can prove that Snowden is gay, that will immediately solve the "national security" problem that US has not been able to solve by using the the usual political arm twisting



[Edited on July 26, 2013 at 10:37 AM. Reason : ]

7/26/2013 10:35:44 AM

This paints a picture of LGBT folks assembling, and then being assaulted, and then being detained by the police.

"36 Photos From Russia That Everyone Needs To See"
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/photos-from-russia-everyone-needs-to-see

Quote :

"Russian orthodox church is a big driver behind all this. So, fuck the Russian way and fuck the church."

That comment made me take notice of this picture's caption:

"29. An Orthodox activist pulls a gay rights campaigner’s hair."

7/26/2013 3:29:30 PM

Quote :

"Similarly to the price of rice in China, why do we care about the ways of gays in Russia?"

Because some people care about humans in other countries?

7/26/2013 4:32:00 PM

c'mon, to the bigots among us, gay people aren't even human

7/28/2013 7:07:56 AM

I'm glad the New York Times has started talking about this, that'll give mainstream media encouragement to start paying attention.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/opinion/sunday/mr-putins-war-on-gays.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1375034605-uMJFm7AmxYdCWaR1AyzxBg

Quote :

"For some time, antigay sentiment has been spreading in Russia’s conservative society, encouraged by the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church. But Mr. Putin and his government have taken that to a new level by legitimizing the hatemongering in legislation."

Quote :

"Last month, Mr. Putin signed a law allowing the police to arrest tourists and foreigners suspected of being gay or pro-gay"

Quote :

"The new laws contravene Russian commitments to human rights and fundamental freedoms under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. They also contradict the charter of the International Olympic Committee, which calls sport a “human right” and states that “every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind.” With laws like these on the books, gay athletes, gay fans and others who speak their minds could put themselves in legal jeopardy by attending the 2014 Winter Olympics, which are in Sochi, Russia, in February."

The Winter Olympics seem to be the crucible for these new laws. There will be gay athletes, reporters, coaches, and spectators illegally at the Winter Olympics under the international spotlight.

7/28/2013 2:16:34 PM

Like blacks and Jews at the 1936 Olympics amirite?

7/28/2013 3:25:54 PM

This is not good news to hear. However nobody should be surprised by this, even in the 21st century. In case you've forgotten Putin was very involved in the Soviet Union and was pretty high up in the KGB. If you think he gives a fuck what other countries think you're being naive. I highly doubt he would be swayed by any international sentiment.

7/30/2013 9:43:40 AM

Apparently there is a boycott of Russian vodka in relation to these abuses. There has been a lot of conversation on the blogs, and some in the media, about whether or not such boycotts are effective. But it means there is more conversation about the situation than there would be if not for the boycott, so maybe that's something.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/31/news/russian-vodka-boycott/?source=cnn_bin

http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/29/gay-activists-call-for-boycott-of-2014-olympics-and-russian-vodka/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=206725917

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23506425

http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/07/25/stoli-responds-lgbt-boycott-russian-products

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2013/07/at-nycs-russian-consulate-protest.html#disqus_thread







Meanwhile, the situation continues:

7/31/2013 6:30:15 PM

So this is an "ingrained in Russian culture" type thing?

Like Muslims treating women worse than cattle?

7/31/2013 9:18:07 PM

boycott russian ammo

and send all your russian ammo stockpiles to me

7/31/2013 10:03:15 PM

Russia has never been a beacon of LGBT equality, but I gather that they have signed on to some pro-equality/human rights international or European resolutions, but have recently taken a sharp turn backwards with a wave of anti-gay laws and violence spurred on by the new legislative stands and political posturing.

[Edited on July 31, 2013 at 10:32 PM. Reason : .]

7/31/2013 10:31:56 PM

But if they weren't religious they'd just find another reason to hate gay people.

8/1/2013 9:57:05 AM

Boycott natural gas.

8/1/2013 10:07:08 AM

Good article talking about the Vodka boycott, pointing out that as well intentioned that it may be, it may be ineffective at best and probably counterproductive to LGBT rights in Russia. If anything, this was intentionally done in part to provoke anti-Western backlash and as an excuse by the Putin government to further crack down on liberal, pro-democracy elements in Russia.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/07/30/the-real-reason-boycotting-russian-vodka-is-unlikely-to-improve-gay-rights/

Quote :

"Russia has been tightening its laws restricting the rights of gay citizens for months, passing legislation that bans “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” such as public marches. But it was the recent violence against gay rights marchers, committed by nationalist counter-protesters as well as police, that seems to have led gay rights activists in the West to say “enough.” A campaign to boycott Russian-made vodkas has been adopted by a number of gay bars in the United States and Canada, as well as, to a lesser degree, the United Kingdom and Australia. Switching from Stoli to Ketel One, though, is probably not likely to shame the Duma into repealing its laws or persuade far-right Russian nationalists to accept fellow citizens. Russian vodka brands are big enough that the loss of Western gay bar business is not likely to harm them much. Even if it did, the alcohol companies don’t have tremendous political clout in Moscow or economic importance for Russia. But that’s not the real reason that, as activists acknowledge, the boycott is unlikely to improve human rights in Russia. It actually has as much or more to do with issues unique to Russia, its post-Soviet popular ideology and ongoing political divisions. Activists get that the vodka boycott isn’t going to transform Russian policies. The goal, as Dan Savage wrote on his blog, is more to “show our solidarity with Russian queers and their allies and to help to draw international attention to the persecution of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans people and straight allies” in Russia. Some activists are also linking this to a larger campaign to either boycott or protest the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi. The games are a point of national Russian pride; negative international attention around the Sochi Olympics could indeed be felt in Moscow. The dilemma here is that a Western campaign does have a good shot at raising awareness within the West. But as that activism grows, so does the risk of a backlash within Russia, potentially entrenching or even worsening the problem. That’s not a reason to avoid raising awareness, of course, which matters in its own right. But it’s a reminder of the delicate balancing act, particularly difficult when it comes to Russia, that Western human rights campaigns can often face. What sort of Western activism does work at pressuring Russia to improve on human rights? After the fall of the Soviet Union, very little. Post-Soviet Russia, particularly since President Vladimir Putin took office in 2000, has emphasized a kind of anti-Western, religiously conservative Russian exceptionalism. Being criticized by liberal Western activists – or, better yet, Western legislators – isn’t a bug of this ideology, it’s a feature. Before the Berlin Wall collapsed, the Soviet Union was a big and mostly confident superpower that had a high stake in maintaining the international system and a functional relationship with the West. Even if Soviet and Western leaders disliked or even feared one another, they had a mutual interest in managing their very real conflicts to keep them from escalating out of control. That extended beyond security and diplomatic issues into human rights. In the mid-1970s, for example, the U.S. made a stink about the Soviet Union’s restrictions on Jewish emigration, an issue pushed both by grass-roots activists and by Congress with a 1974 law called the Jackson-Vanick amendment. And it eventually worked, leading Moscow to soften emigration policies. That dynamic has since flipped: Russia and the West now have, outside of a few Moscow-backed rogue states and some Eastern European defense issues, largely convergent national interests. But Russia has gone from a confident (maybe even overly confident) superpower to an insecure and internally troubled nation. Putin needs, or at least believes he needs, to maintain the idea that Russia is fundamentally different from the West and that Western lecturing about human rights is really just a form of cultural imperialism and an attack on Russian greatness. Grigory Golosov, of Russia’s Center for Democracy and Human Rights Helix, told The Washington Post in January that the anti-gay laws are actually intended to create a backlash. “This is part of a concentrated effort by the Russian authorities to create a new political cleavage between the conservative, pro-Putin majority and the more liberal, pro-Western minority,” he said. “They have to invent issues around which such a cleavage can be manufactured.” Past efforts to pressure post-Soviet Russia on human rights abuses have led Russian leaders to only dig in further, much more eager to be seen as defying Western punishments than avoiding them. The Magnitsky Act, a U.S. law to punish Russian officials complicit in human rights abuses, prompted Moscow to counter with a law restricting American families from adopting Russian orphans, who are innocent bystanders to this conflict. While many Russians opposed the retaliatory strike, many others supported it. The ensuing international attention on the law’s harm to innocent Russian children seemed only to entrench both sides within Russia, making it, for many, an issue of national pride to defy Western dictates and go ahead with the ban. None of this, of course, is to argue that activists or others should ignore human rights abuses in Russia or anywhere else. That wouldn’t do Russia’s gay community any good, either. It is only to note that Russian politics don’t work like American politics, that national ideologies there can color how Western activism campaigns are perceived and that Russian leaders often face an incentive structure that makes publicly defying such campaigns preferable to just ignoring them. The way that the country is currently set up, economically and politically, just doesn’t make it very vulnerable to Western human rights criticism."

8/1/2013 2:10:34 PM

Quote :

"But if they weren't religious they'd just find another reason to hate gay people."

Half of russians are not in any traditional religion. Gay-hating is not only a religious problem.

8/1/2013 2:13:55 PM

I'm boycotting Russian hackers from stealing my credit card info from this day forward.

8/1/2013 2:15:20 PM

Here are the petitions I've seen floating around:


Put ELENA MIZULINA and VITALY MILONOV on the visa ban list for their role in creating Russia's ban on "gay propaganda"
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/put-elena-mizulina-and-vitaly-milonov-visa-ban-list-their-role-creating-russias-ban-gay-propaganda/mYMFcF9W

To Ensure Fair And Accurate Coverage Of The 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, Truth Wins Out Strongly Urges NBC To Assign Rachel Maddow As A Special Human Rights Correspondent For The Duration Of The Games
http://ht.ly/nvaVi

L.A. City Council: Sever your "sister city" relationship with anti-gay St. Petersburg
http://www.petitions.moveon.org/sign/la-city-council-sever

8/1/2013 2:35:32 PM

Quote :

"Half of russians are not in any traditional religion. Gay-hating is not only a religious problem."

Over half of North Carolinians are against Amendment One and yet....perhaps the rote demographics of a region has absolutely nothing to do with the impact that bigoted, superstitious shitheads have on that region.

8/1/2013 5:00:31 PM

Here is the latest stateside protest, in front of Moscow's embassy in DC:
http://www.rferl.org/content/protests-russia-gay-rights-washington-new-york-vodka-putin/25062837.html

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the US, 2 more states begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples today:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/sex-marriages-begin-rhode-island-19836120

Quote :

"August 1, 2013 (AP) Same-sex marriages have begun in Rhode Island, and local officials for the first time are issuing marriage licenses to gay couples who wish to wed in the state."

http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/217858401.html

Quote :

"August 1, 2013 The streets outside Minneapolis City Hall were filled with newly-wedded gay and lesbian couples reveling in their new marital status Thursday morning while inside dozens more waited their turn in lines that lasted until dawn."

[Edited on August 1, 2013 at 5:06 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2013 5:05:45 PM

American politicians use pro-gay promises to sway the masses and Russian politicians use an anti-gay platform to do the same. Neither really cares about homosexuals but are thrilled to have a nice distraction from their respective authoritarian policies.

8/1/2013 11:21:41 PM

Russians are very petty-

Does anyone know is there is some amazing supergay about to compete?

Russia would totally pull this shit just to increase their medal count.

8/1/2013 11:32:00 PM

Quote :

"To Ensure Fair And Accurate Coverage Of The 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, Truth Wins Out Strongly Urges NBC To Assign Rachel Maddow As A Special Human Rights Correspondent For The Duration Of The Games http://ht.ly/nvaVi"

And if NBC decided to do that guess what? She wouldn't be allowed in the country.

8/2/2013 8:35:06 AM

Or better yet, she'd be allowed in, but not out.

8/2/2013 11:12:08 AM

8/2/2013 1:23:22 PM

http://americablog.com/2013/08/us-senator-blasts-russian-threat-against-gay-olympic-athletes.html

Quote :

"US Senator blasts “outrageous” Russian threat against gay Olympic athletes United States Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) called “outrageous” the news that Russia plans to arrest gay, and gay-friendly, Olympic athletes and visitors during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia."

Quote :

"Of particular concern now is the safety of New Zealand Olympic speedskater Blake Skjellerup, who indicated that he would wear a rainbow pin while competing in the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. According to the Russian Sports Minister today, Skjellerup, who is openly gay, will be arrested on arriving in Sochi."

And I just saw a report on the Spectrum Human Rights Alliance website, which has been covering a lot of this stuff, suggesting the kid in the first photo has now died from his injuries.

[Edited on August 2, 2013 at 1:40 PM. Reason : .]

8/2/2013 1:28:23 PM

"Senator to introduce resolution denouncing anti-LGBT law in Russia"
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/08/01/senator-to-introduce-resolution-denouncing-anti-lgbt-law-in-russia/?hpt=po_c2

This situation has made its way to the attention of the mainstream media and the US Senate, which should be enough to bring as much international focus and watch-dogging on the situation as realistically could be expected.

[Edited on August 4, 2013 at 9:28 AM. Reason : .]

8/4/2013 9:25:38 AM

Apparently the Bloodhound Gang is a fan of the gays in Russia, and they got beat up for it.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/03/world/europe/russia-us-flag-controversy/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

8/4/2013 1:36:48 PM

American politicians use pro-gay promises to sway the masses and Russian politicians use an anti-gay platform to do the same. Neither really cares about homosexuals but are thrilled to have a nice distraction from their respective authoritarian policies.

8/4/2013 4:49:33 PM

Politicians don't really give a shit about anyone except themselves anyway, what was your point?

8/5/2013 8:24:37 AM

^^^^always good to see politicans we pay over $100k a year wasting their time on meaningless gestures like that.

8/5/2013 8:57:38 AM

Maybe if you were gay you wouldn't find it meaningless.

8/5/2013 9:27:34 AM

I guess the House wanted in on the action too:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/john-kerry-olympics_n_3701435.html

Quote :

"A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking for protection of LGBT rights at the 2014 Olympic games in Russia."

8/5/2013 9:30:12 AM

These guys find it meaningless

8/5/2013 9:31:34 AM

Well fuck, while you typed that several children died of preventable illness. Guess your life is completely meaningless and you should just kill yourself because you breathing and typing things isn't helping them.

8/5/2013 9:53:31 AM

Quote :

"Maybe if you were gay you wouldn't find it meaningless."

Being gay has nothing to do with it. A "resolution" is just words. It could be a resolution on anything...still meaningless.

8/5/2013 10:01:56 AM

^
You're right. Words have never had any effect on anything.

8/5/2013 11:04:43 AM

I see your point, but don't see it having an impact in this situation.

8/6/2013 1:38:41 PM

"Obama has ‘no patience’ for Russian anti-gay law"
http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/08/07/obama-has-no-patience-for-anti-gay-laws-like-russias/

Quote :

"I have been very clear that when it comes to universal rights, when it comes to people’s basic freedoms, that whether you’re discriminating on the basis of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation you are violating the basic morality that I think should transcend every country"

Quote :

"“They are athletes,” Obama said. “They are there to compete. And if Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track or in the swimming pool or on the balance beam and people’s sexual orientation shouldn’t have anything to do with it.”"

8/7/2013 1:35:37 AM

"Obama cancels meeting with Putin amid Russia tensions"
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/07/19912184-obama-cancels-meeting-with-putin-amid-russia-tensions?lite

Quote :

"President Barack Obama has canceled a planned meeting in Moscow with Russia's President Vladimir Putin - a diplomatic snub that follows tensions over NSA leaker Edward Snowden."

Quote :

"The decision to cancel the meeting also came hours after Obama criticized Russia's policies toward gays and lesbians in an interview with "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno."

"Obama-Putin summit canceled in part due to Russian gay crackdown, official confirms"
http://americablog.com/2013/08/obama-putin-summit-cancel-gay.html

Quote :

"While it goes without saying that Russia’s treatment of NSA leaker Edward Snowden played a large part in the cancellation of the mini-summit, it also has been clear for a while that bilateral relations between the US and Russia have become increasingly strained on a number of issues, including the Syrian civil war and LGBT human rights. So while no one is claiming that gay rights is the sole, or even lead, reason that the President canceled the Putin meeting, it is hugely significant that the administration is acknowledging that Russia’s draconian crackdown on gay and trans people figured into the President’s calculus at all."

8/7/2013 11:10:09 AM