Moscow's Mayor
Bans Gay Parade, Cites Violence

The mayor of Moscow said the city will not allow gay pride marches to take place on this year's May Day holiday, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday. Mayor Yury Luzhkov has been an opponent of gay pride marches, once calling them "Satan's work." A spokesperson for the mayor told reporters that a permit for the parade is being denied because of Russian society's opposition to the "gay lifestyle and philosophy." He also said the government wanted to avoid what it assumed would be widespread violence as a reaction to the parade.

Nicolai Alexeyev, the leader of LGBT activist group Gay Russia, has been working to get the mayor to allow the events. An unsanctioned parade in May 2007 to commemorate the decriminalization of homosexuality ended in violent gay bashing by ultranationalists.

"This is not a question of security," Alexeyev told AFP. "It is only a question of the personal hatred of the Moscow mayor toward gay people." (The Advocate)