Russia Proposes Expanding LGBTQ+ 'Propaganda' Ban

Russian legislators are considering an expansion of the nation's so-called gay propaganda law, which bans "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors, to include such "promotion" to adults.

"We propose to generally extend the ban on such propaganda regardless of the age of the audience (offline, in the media, on the internet, social networks and online cinemas)," the head of the State Duma's information committee, Alexander Khinshtein, said Monday on his Telegram social media channel, according to Reuters. The Duma is one of the houses of Russia's national legislative body.

The current law, adopted in 2013, bans dissemination of information about LGBTQ+ identities and issues in venues accessible to minors. The law particularly targets anything that portrays same-sex relationships as equal to different-sex ones. Violators of the law can be fined, and the statute has been used to ban Pride events and punish LGBTQ+ activists. It has also contributed to a generally anti-LGBTQ+ atmosphere and been blamed for hate crimes.

Russia's homophobia and transphobia have drawn widespread international condemnation. But legislators said they felt free to expand the "propaganda" law now that the nation has left the Council of Europe, a human rights body. Russia left the group after its invasion of Ukraine this year.

Trending stories

Discover the power of Wellness in your life

Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring

Robert Irwin is stripping down & rocking tiny briefs in new underwear campaign

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

French Polynesia doesn’t need Pride flags to earn its place on every LGBTQ+ bucket list

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

'White Lotus' S3 finale recap: Here's how each character's story ended

Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times

Out and About with Karan Soni

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

Dylan Efron dishes on his sexy back arch & Speedo pics: 'That's what I'm good at!'

Who died on 'The White Lotus' season 3? The finale, explained.

Broadway bound: The best hotels in NYC’s Theater District for every type of traveler

Beyond Wonderland's accepting & unifying rave culture is needed more than ever

The Charles is Pacific Grove's new LGBTQ+ hotel

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

Here's what the 'White Lotus' stars revealed about the season 3 finale

Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources

Matt Bomer reveals his favorite 'Fellow Travelers' sex scene with Jonathan Bailey

Peaches Christ says she's been 'retraumatized' by police investigating drag icon Heklina's death

23 brutally funny 'Hands Off' protest signs that prove the resistance is alive & hilarious

J.K. Rowling's new target? The asexual community

Madonna and Elton John have 'buried the hatchet' — tease music collab

Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

Russia adopted a new constitution in 2020 that allowed for longer presidential terms --to the benefit of President Vladimir Putin -- and defined marriage as solely a male-female union. Putin "has aligned himself closely with the Orthodox Church -- which rejects same-sex relationships -- and has made its social conservatism part of a narrative of Russian political and cultural revival that is now also being used to help justify the invasion of Ukraine," Reuters notes. And Parliamentary Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said LGBTQ+ acceptance constitutes "alien values."

"Demands to legalize same-sex marriages in Russia are a thing of the past," he said last week, according to the news service. "Attempts to impose alien values on our society have failed."

Follow More Advocate News on Pride Today Below