Russia Votes to Bar Gay Foreign Couples From Adopting

The lower house of Russia's Parliament voted Tuesday 443-0 to bar gay couples from other countries from adopting Russian children. The bill, which will head to the upper house of Parliament, would apply the ban toward couples in countries that do not have marriage equality.

The proposed law would also heavily regulate adoptions by foreign gay couples where marriage is legal, according to AFP. Additionally, single people from about a dozen countries could be barred from adopting Russian children.

Earlier this month the lower house, or Duma, voted 436-0 to ban LGBT events or public discussion of LGBT issues that might be accessible to minors.

"A child should have a mother and a father, a child in a family has an idea of what the world is about," Duma deputy speaker Sergei Zheleznyak said. "If a child ends up with a homosexual couple, it could of course cause severe damage and the child ends up with a distorted perception of reality."

The bill came as a reaction to the French government establishing marriage equality for same-sex couples.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has already said he would sign the bill into law.