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

Contents:

• RSIA’S ANTI-GAY ‘PROPAGANDA LAW’ ASSLT ON EEDOM OF EXPRSN
• RSIA: EXPAND 'GAY PROPAGANDA' BAN PROGRS TOWARD LAW
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• RSIAN LAWMAKERS MOVE TO TOUGHEN ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ LAW, BANNG ALL ADULTS OM ‘PROMOTG’ SAME-SEX RELATNSHIPS
• ‘OUR MERE EXISTENCE IS ILLEGAL.’ AS MOSW TOUGHENS ANTI-GAY LAW, LGBTQ RSIANS FEAR FOR THE FUTURE
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT
• WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RSIA’S SO-CALLED ‘GAY PROPAGANDA’ BILL
• RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS
• WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY

RSIA’S ANTI-GAY ‘PROPAGANDA LAW’ ASSLT ON EEDOM OF EXPRSN

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. Rsia’s Parliament has backed a bill which outlaws the “propaganda of homosexualy among mors” a move that will rtrict fundamental human rights and is breach of the untry’s ternatnal obligatns to protect lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) people om discrimatn, Amnty Internatnal said today. 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. 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.

RSIA: EXPAND 'GAY PROPAGANDA' BAN PROGRS TOWARD LAW

The proposals prohib sharg posive and even ntral rmatn about lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people, and publicly displayg non-heterosexual orientatns, wh hefty f for nonpliance.

The origal “gay propaganda” ban, troduced 2013, purported to protect children om “propaganda, ” broadly fed to mean any posive or ntral pictn or discsn of non-heterosexual relatns. The draft legislatn classifi displays of non-heterosexual relatns or orientatn as “rmatn harmful to children’s health and velopment” and provis that webs and other onle sourc hostg rmatn about lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people n be blocked. “The 2013 ‘gay propaganda’ law was an unabashed example of polil homophobia, and the new draft legislatn amplifi that broar and harsher ways, ” said Tanya Loksha, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Petersburg who left Rsia after his parents threatened to sue his therapist who backed him receivg hormone therapy; and Ivan, 18, who is gay, half Rsian and half Ukraian, and “didn’t want to kill people. “My parents are very nservative and they don’t believe gay people should exist, ” said Max, who didn’t disclose his last name for fear of retaliatn agast his parents who live St.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

Although is not illegal to be an LGBTQ+ person Rsia, a ago the Kreml passed a so-lled “gay propaganda law” banng the distributn of rmatn about gay relatnships among mors. MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Rters) - Rsia's parliament approved on Thursday a bill that wins a prohibn of "LGBT propaganda" and rtricts the "monstratn" of LGBT behavur, makg any exprsn of an LGBT liftyle almost the new law, which still needs the approval of the upper hoe of parliament and Print Vladimir Put, any actn or rmatn that is nsired an attempt to promote homosexualy - whether public, onle, or films, books or advertisg - uld cur a heavy fe.

'HYBRID WARFARE'"LGBT today is an element of hybrid warfare and this hybrid warfare we mt protect our valu, our society and our children, " Alexanr Khste, one of the bill's archects, said last experts said the vaguens of the bill's language giv room for law enforcers to terpret them as broadly as they wish, leavg members of the LGBT muny a state of even greater take part the LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr) muny rally "VIII St. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File PhotoKseniya Mikhailova of the LGBT support group Vykhod ("Comg Out") said adults-only gay bars or clubs would probably still be allowed to functn, although perhaps not to advertise, but that same-sex kissg public might be taken as an she said same-sex upl would beg to fear that their children might be taken om them on the grounds that they were havg an LGBT liftyle monstrated to law stipulat f of up to 400, 000 roubl ($6, 600) for dividuals and up to 5 ln roubl ($82, 100) for legal enti. In one episo of the highly-acclaimed HBO seri The Whe Lot, a Rsian streamg service changed the word "gay" to "man", eded a towel onto one male character's bare backsi and leted a gay sex scene, jt days after the law was ptn, The book Shattered, about the romance between two men, has been heavily redacted RsiaBooks, too, are beg censored.

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

The text has been redacted by the publisher, wh whole sectns replaced wh black of the -thors of the law, an openly homophobic natnalist lled Valy Milonov, agre to speak to me via violk.

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

Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab". "We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May.

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law. Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn.

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says.

Rsian lawmakers agreed to toughen the untry’s discrimatory law agast so-lled same-sex “propaganda, ” movg to ban all Rsians om promotg or “praisg” homosexual relatnships or publicly suggtg that they are “normal.

“Above all, by adoptg such laws the urt found that the thori had rerced stigma and prejudice and enuraged homophobia, which was patible wh the valu – of equaly, pluralism and tolerance – of a mocratic society, ” the urt document said. Multiple discrimatory laws have been passed sce, startg wh 2013 legislatn rtrictg LGBTQ+ rights known as the "gay propaganda" law, which banned any public endorsement of "nontradnal sexual relatns" among the vasn of Ukrae last year, Rsian thori ratcheted up their rhetoric, methodilly weedg out anythg they emed a "gradg Wtern fluence, " cludg rights groups that advoted anythg om helpg domtic abe victims to prervg rerds of Soviet 2022, the origal law targetg "gay propaganda" was expand to ver adults, outlawg any posive or even ntral reprentatn of LGBTQ+ people the public sphere, movi, lerature or media, forcg the already rare number of LGBTQ+-iendly spac to executive director of the Inpennt Psychiatric Associatn of Rsia, Lyubov Vogradova, lled the law "misanthropic" ments to the Rsian newspaper Kommersant late June. 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.

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

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. “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.

RSIA NOT ONLY COUNTRY WH ANTI-GAY LAWS

In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that. “The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them, ” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer.

Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails, ” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN. “There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns, ” Roth said.

Of urse, other drks e the word “gay, ” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space. Homosexualy ntu to be crimalized the former Brish lony after many hundreds of years, leavg LGBTQ dividuals wh ltle if any legal protectns while vlent crim were beg mted wh impuny, the report said. Many of the terviewe said job hirgs and firgs were beg largely termed by sexual orientatn, while other gay people lucky to have jobs faced sexual harassment the workplace.

WHY RSIA IS SO ANTI-GAY

"The crimalizatn of gay sex giv tac state sanctn to the discrimatn and vlence that LGBT people experience their daily liv and pels many to look abroad to live eely and fulfill their dreams, " said Cristian González Cabrera, gay rights rearcher at Human Rights Watch.