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

Contents:

• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL
• ‘OUR MERE EXISTENCE IS ILLEGAL.’ AS MOSW TOUGHENS ANTI-GAY LAW, LGBTQ RSIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE
• WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY
• ‘I’M AAID FOR MY FUTURE’: PROPOSED LAWS THREATEN GAY LIFE RSIA
• RSIAN LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TOUGHEN ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ LAW, BANNG ALL ADULTS OM ‘PROMOTG’ SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS
• RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL

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. 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.

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

In December 2022, Rsia expand s existg “gay propaganda” law to exert ntrol over public discsns and narrativ surroundg non-heterosexual relatnships and inti. ” Some lawmakers have also shown support for an pennt bill that would make any so-lled “gay propaganda” a crimal offense, acrdg to the Associated Prs.

Petersburg and Mosw have been marked by state vlence and arrts, while an crease the number of attacks on LGBTQ people throughout Rsia—both by dividuals and by anized homophobic groups—creased after the 2013 law, acrdg to a 2014 report published by Human Rights Watch. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights led that Rsia’s “gay propaganda law” was discrimatory, promoted homophobia, and vlated the European Conventn on Human Rights and that “served no legimate public tert.

” The urt rejected suggtns that public bate on LGBTQ issu uld fluence children to bee homosexual or that threatened public morals. Rsia’s parliament has passed the third and fal readg of a law banng “LGBT propaganda” among all adults, as Mosw ramps up s nservative ph at home amid the war Ukrae that passed the ne-month mark on bill crimalis any act regard as an attempt to promote what Rsia lls “non-tradnal sexual relatns” – film, onle, advertisg or public – and expands on a notor 2013 law that banned “propaganda of nontradnal sexual relatns” among mors and was ed to ta gay rights the new law, dividuals n be fed up to 400, 000 roubl (£5, 400) and anisatns 5m roubl (£68, 500) for “propagandisg nontradnal sexual relatns”, while foreigners uld face up to 15 days’ arrt and expulsn om rights groups and LGBTQ+ activists say the extensn of the law means any act or public mentn of same-sex relatnships is functnally beg Rsian print, Vladimir Put, is expected to sign the bill the g the start of the war Ukrae, the Kreml has lnched a h effort to promote “tradnal valu”, wh the Rsian lear makg anti-gay rhetoric one of the rnerston of his polil a recent speech, Put acced the wt of “movg towards open satanism”, cg the promotn of gay and transgenr rights Europe as an example. ”Kochetkov said the bill was also an attempt by the Kreml to look for ternal enemi and distract attentn om battlefield past newsletter promotnafter newsletter promotnHuman rights crics fear the law will be ed to close down pennt film and book ftivals, makg the topic of gay sexual orientatn sentially taboo Rsia.

WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY

”Over the past few years, Rsia has banned a number of proment LGBTQ+ rights groups, cludg the Sphere Foundatn, an anisatn that shed light on vlent anti-gay purg Chechnya. Kochetkov’s LGBT Network, wh a number of other human rights groups, has also received the “foreign agent” label, a Soviet-era tag signed to target groups the thori say receive “foreign fundg” and engage “polil activy” while the Rsian ernment has expand s attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, recent pollg has dited parts of Rsian society are beg more tolerant towards the gay muny, wh a 2019 poll showg that 68% of younger Rsians view the LGBTQ+ muny as “normal” July, Daria Kasatka, Rsia’s hight-ranked female tennis player, me out as gay, a move appld by fellow athlet and parts of the Rsian public. Potg to the reactns, Kochetkov said the new law would not drastilly change the way Rsians viewed lbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgenr people.

As the Kreml prepared to falize the expansn of the 2013 discrimatory anti-gay law, members of the LGBTQ muny Rsia told CNN they feared the uncerta future ahead. The measur clu g private acunts on social media, havg accs to a work of tsted people, sendg their son to a private krgarten where the fact a kid has two moms is ls likely to spark a homophobic reactn, and g a private hospal where they n ls risk of a doctor llg child protectn thori to make quiri about their fay set-up, they said. Sce the first law on “gay propaganda” passed 2013, Rsia has seen repeated crackdowns on the gay muny, most notably 2017 and aga 2019 the southern regn of Chechnya, where activists reported dozens of men and women were taed and some tortured and killed for their sexual orientatn, and no proper vtigatn followed.

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

“This is not only an anti-gay law, this is also explicly an anti-trans law, ” said Vanya Solovey, an advocy and program officer for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the trans rights group Transgenr Europe, referencg the part of the package that forbids the promotn of rmatn that uld e people to want to change their genr assigned at birth. The discrimatory law propos to ban all Rsians om promotg or “praisg” homosexual relatnships or publicly suggtg that they are “normal. The European Court of Human Rights led 2017 that Rsia’s so-lled “gay propaganda law” is discrimatory, promot homophobia and vlat the European Conventn on Human Rights.

RSIAN LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TOUGHEN ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ LAW, BANNG ALL ADULTS OM ‘PROMOTG’ SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS

Shortly before the State Duma approved the 2013 legislatn a 436-0 vote, people prottg the bill's passg were attacked by those wh anti-LGBTQ+ viewpots before beg taed by Rsia crimalized homosexualy 1993, amendments to the Rsian Constutn 2020 banned LGBTQ+ unns the untry — an actn that was clared a human rights vlatn by the European Court of Human Rights.

Marie Stthers, the anizatn's director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said a statement, "In Rsia's new era of reprsn, state-sanctned homophobia is about to be ramped up to a whole new level. ""The new draft 'gay propaganda' law not only brazenly priv LGBTI people of their right to eedom of exprsn and endors their discrimatn, but will likely also lead to an crease vlent attacks and other hate crim agast them, " Stthers add.

RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS

"Rsia has also been cricized recent years for s treatment of LGBTQ+ people Chechnya, whose mayor nounced homosexualy 2017, statg "We don't have those kds of people here. Brish gay rights activist Peter Tatchell stag an anti-Put prott agast the mistreatment of LGBT people Rsia ont of a monument to Soviet Marshal Gey Zhov on Manezhnaya Square Mosw on June 14, 2018. Nearly three-quarters of Rsians believe that homosexually is morally unacceptable, more than disapprove of other hot-button issu such as extramaral affairs, gamblg and numbers e om newly released data om the Pew Rearch Center, which surveyed Rsians on their moral attus sprg 2013.

Jt eight months before the gam, Rsia's ernmental body, the Duma, passed a law makg illegal to distribute homosexual "propaganda" to mors, which clus stagg gay pri events and advotg for gay law also bans foreign same-sex upl om adoptg Rsian the openg day of the Olympics (Feb. [5 Myths About Gay People Debunked]History of anti-gay attusUnrstandg Rsia's wispread gay sentiment requir a look back, said Tatiana Mikhailova, a senr stctor of Rsian Studi at the Universy of Colorado, Boulr. Tradnal genr rol fell to revolutnary iology, and the fay stcture was seen as outdated, she the revolutn, Czarist Rsia was hardly iendly to gays.