'Our mere existence is illegal.' As Mosw toughens anti-gay law, LGBTQ Rsians fear for the future | CNN

lgbt russia

Hate crim agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) people Rsia have doubled five years, rearchers said on Tuday, the wake of a law banng "gay propaganda".

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‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA

It is the latt attack on LGBT rights the untry, after another anti-gay law was extend last year. * lgbt russia *

In December 2022, Rsia expand s existg “gay propaganda” law to exert ntrol over public discsns and narrativ surroundg non-heterosexual relatnships and inti. The European Court of Human Rights led 2017 that the 2013 law is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights. The urt found that the law “served no legimate public tert, ” rejectg suggtns that public bate on LGBT issu uld fluence children to bee homosexual, or that threatened public morals.

Homosexualy was crimalized Rsia 1993, but homophobia and discrimatn is still rife.

‘OUR MERE EXISTENCE IS ILLEGAL.’ AS MOSW TOUGHENS ANTI-GAY LAW, LGBTQ RSIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE

Young mothers Yana and Yaroslava don’t want to leave Rsia wh their 6-year-old son. But they fear a harsh new anti-gay law passed by Rsian lawmakers will leave them ltle choice. * lgbt russia *

Speakg before Put signed the bill to the law on Monday, Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch said: “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways. It banned, quote, "propaganda of homosexualy and pedophilia among mors.

And particularly where that base of support is close to relig views, there is a lot of crossover there that works for polil opportunists who are g official forms of homophobia to fe their polil That is Dan Healey, profsor of Rsian history at the Universy of Oxford. The adoptn of more state-sponsored homophobia will evably lead to yet another wave of vlence, and further crease the LGBT suici rate, particularly among teenagers. Volod may seem an unlikely choice to lead the mpaign for so-lled "tradnal valu" Rsia, as his own sexual orientatn has been been the subject of speculatn the Rsian-language media sce 2013, when the then-Kreml puty chief of staff was outed by Rsian LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseyev durg a rad discsn which he was argug that homosexuals existed even the ranks of the untry's ele.

'WE'RE NOT HIDG': GAY AND LBIAN RSIANS SAY A CULTURAL SHIFT IS UNRWAY

* lgbt russia *

The law propos to ban all Rsians om promotg or “praisg” homosexual relatnships or publicly suggtg that they are “normal. The ntroversial law was met wh cricism and ridicule Wtern untri, cludg a lg the European Court of Human Rights 2017 that stated Rsia’s “gay propaganda law” is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights.

"Advot say the ban has been over a the December, Put signed a law expandg rtrictns on the promotn of "LGBT propaganda, " effectively banng any public exprsn of their liftyle by lbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenr people Rsia. Earlier legislatn has been ed for years to stop gay pri march, ta activists, and, many LGBTQ Rsians say, stil a culture of fear among those who live what the Kreml lls "non-tradnal liftyl". "Rsia has allowed genr chang on IDs sce 1997, four years after crimalised homosexualy.

"Last December, Rsian Print Vladimir Put signed a law expandg rtrictns on the promotn of "LGBT propaganda", effectively banng gay, lbian and genr-diverse people om any public exprsn of their liftyle. Earlier legislatn has been ed for years to stop gay pri march and ta mt pass three readgs the State Duma lower hoe of parliament before beg sent to the upper hoe and then to Print Vladimir Put for signg. They were tryg to ply wh a 2013 Rsian law that bans exposg mors to anythg that uld be nsired “gay propaganda.

LGBT HATE CRIM DOUBLE RSIA AFTER BAN ON 'GAY PROPAGANDA'

”The anizers had good reason to be wary: Life has been challengg for gay Rsians sce the law passed, as the ernment has treated gay life as a Wtern import that is harmful to tradnal Rsian valu and Rsia’s Parliament is set to pass a legislative package that would ban all “gay propaganda, ” signalg an even more difficult perd ahead for a stigmatized segment of laws would prohib reprentatn of L. Exprsn wh s ratnale for the war Ukrae, sistg that Rsia is fightg not jt Ukrae but all of NATO, a Wtern alliance that reprents a threat to the Put drove home that argument a speech last week, sayg that the Wt n have “dozens of genrs and gay pri paras, ” but that should not try to spread the “trends” elsewhere. Aleksandr Khste, a puty om the lg Uned Rsia party and the lead thor of the new anti-gay bills, was even more blunt.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* LGBT RUSSIA

'We're not hidg': Gay and lbian Rsians say a cultural shift is unrway .

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