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RUSSIA’S FOREIGN MINISTER has rejected criticism from the Dutch government and the European Union about proposed legislation that would outlaw “homosexual propaganda.”
Responding to Dutch assertions that the legislation may be contrary to Russia’s international obligations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there were no such obligations, saying:
We don’t have a single international or common European commitment to allow propaganda of homosexuality.
Russia’s lower house of parliament on 25 January voted to support a bill that makes public events and dissemination of information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to minors punishable by fines of up to just over €12,000. The bill still requires the parliament’s and the president’s final approval.
Lavrov spoke at a news conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans, who on 1 February had urged Russia not to put the bill into law and said he would raise the issue with Lavrov.
“Discrimination against homosexuals is unacceptable. Gay rights are human rights and Russia must adhere to its international obligations,” Timmermans had said, calling on the Russian parliament not to approve the bill.
At the news conference, Timmermans said he and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton believe that the legislation “could infringe on fundamental rights.”
Homophobia
Russia decriminalised homosexuality in 1993, but homophobia remains strong in the country. Authorities routinely ban gay rallies and parades.
Those behind the bill say minors need to be protected from “homosexual propaganda” because they are unable to evaluate the information critically.
Lavrov insisted today that since homosexuality was decriminalised, gay people have enjoyed full rights in Russia and “can go about their business absolutely freely and unpunished.”
But Russia “has its own moral, religious and historical values,” Lavrov said, warning against “another kind of discrimination when one group of citizens gets the right to aggressively promote their own values that run against those shared by the majority of the society and impose them on children.”
The bill has drawn opposition from many Russians. Activists rallied outside the parliament building protesting the bill while several leading Russian magazines dedicated their latest issues to the problems that homosexuals face in Russia.
The Afisha bi-weekly ran the rainbow flag on its cover along with a dozen of double-spread profiles of Russians, from trendy journalists to utilities workers, speaking openly about their homosexuality.
The bill is backed by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party which holds a majority in the parliament so opponents’ chances of blocking the legislation are slim. The parliament is going to discuss amendments to the bill until late May, making its passage before June highly unlikely.
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Broadminded guy.
While I might not agree that there is such a thing as homosexual propaganda, he has no obligation to explain his countries domestic policies to the rest of the world, no matter how unsavory. This is what the people of Russia want…
Apart from the LGBT Russians and those who support equality, you are right.
Jim, I think you’ll find they are in the minority in Russia. And democracy is about the majority.
Democracy is about the majority, yes. But the line is drawn when the rights of an individual are affected. Take for example the southern US states 50 years ago. Just because the majority of lawmakers in their role as representatives of the people approved of racial segregation did make it right.
That should read “did *not* make it right.”
@ John,
Jews in the A.M. Gays in the P.M. you get around
John, democracy is just as much about equality and freedoms, as it is about rule of the majority. The proposed laws would restrict equalities and freedoms for gay men and women in Russia, as well as those who would support them.
It is right and proper for the international community to question the policies of a supposedly democratic country when those policies impinge on basic rights associated with democracy.
@Dennis the Russian authorities aren’t trying to segregate anyone or even banning homosexuality they just want to keep material that promotes that particular lifestyle choice out of the hands of minors.
John, what particular lifestyle choice are you talking about and what material is out there that “promotes” such a choice?
Sorry, that post above is for Carl, not John.
I didn’t say Russia was attempting segregation. I was using the US as an example of how democracy is not simply about majority rule.
Besides that, why do the young need to be protected from information about the gay “lifestyle”? For one, it’s not a lifestyle, just as there’s no such thing as a black lifestyle or a female lifestyle. I live a very different life to Graham Norton, and both he and I live different lives again to David Norris. Secondly, if it were something that young people needed protecting from, well then everyone in Western Europe under the age of 30 should be seriously corrupted by it at this stage. It’s an infringement of human rights on so many levels and there’s no getting around that.
Jim, yes but we need to look after the minority. It’s about individual rights.
@Brian is there something wrong with you that you couldn’t understand my original comment? The Russian authorities want to prevent material that promotes or endorses a homosexual lifestyle being distributed to young russian kids. Things such as pamphlets pertaining to LGBT issues, commercials on tv and gay scenes in tv shows or rallys anywhere near schools things of that nature.
@Dennis, take a walk up George’s street on a Friday or Saturday night and I think you’ll find there very much is a gay lifestyle, one which the Russian authorities are trying to discourage.
@Carl you come across as appearing to feel quite threatened by gay people. What are you afraid of? That a guy might say you are good looking and try chatting you up? Or have you had a lesbian knick some girl on you that you thought you were in with?
All your comments come across as you being afraid of gay people rather than just not approving of it based on some spurious moral or religious ground.
I actually have nothing against the gays if thats how they choose to live their lives then fine by me but I do not think it is a lifestyle which should be encouraged or celebrated in the public eye. Normalizing homosexuality can have a damaging effect on society. Take the soaps for example you cannot sit through an evening of television without having some form of homosexual act thrown in your face by the shows producers and these shows air pre-watershed. No 8 or 9 year old kid should have to witness that behaviour, imagine their confusion and the horrible position it puts parents in.
You’re pure ignorant
@Carl the George and all that are as representative of ‘gay lifestyles’ as Tallaghtfornia and the goings-on in Coppers are of ‘straight lifestyles’
@ John Duggan. “Democracy is about the majority”. You’re using the fact that a government needs a majority to be elected, to give a poor definition of democracy. Have you ever heard the phrase “The measure of a civilization is how it treats its weakest members”? Yes it’s true that a majority elects a government, but in a fair society that government must represent everyone equally. It’s not enough to just represent those that voted for them. The majority of people in Ireland are white, should black people have less democratic rights than white people? The majority of people in Ireland are able bodied, should people with disabilities have less democratic rights? The majority of people in Ireland are heterosexual, should the lbgt community in Ireland have less democratic rights?
Yes Paul I concur the behaviour on Tallafornia & in Copper Face Jacks is representative of a vast bulk of young straight people.
Carl jog on and keep your idiotic and homophobic comments to yourself.
Carl talk to any gay person and theyll tell you straight away they dont chose it as a lifestyle. Its just the way they are. You think gay people chose to put themselves at risk of homophobic attacks, rejection by unaccepting friends and family, discrimination and condemnation by religious authorities, having fewer civil rights as straight people.
Yes carl we chose that! We love not being able to travel to certain parts of the world for fear of the death penalty. We love being told we are intrinsically evil and that we will destroy the family unit just because we want to have the same marriage rights you have.
Your above comment truly does display gross ignorance.
So you can split one group by age but not the other? it’s only young straight people, but it’s all of the gay people…says the ignorant prejudiced bigot
Lavrov … I like this guy , I wish we had him in Ireland . He speaks the truth when he talks about the rights of mainstream society and how they are affected by the giving of rights to the homosexual community , I think its something that the Irish Media skip over time and time again and something which needs to be debated properly.
Freebies and Carl its because of people like you that so many young men and women who are trying to come to terms with their sexuality commit suicide. What horrible attitudes you both have. Shame on you both.
The majority are catholic too but you usually want to exclude us from the mainstream !
Carl, homosexuality doesn’t need to be normalised. It IS normal. Your problem is that you have trouble accepting that, even if you don’t realise it.
@ John Duggan, ahhh yes, you would support the tyranny of the majority, the “democratic” imposition of prejudice, the irrelevance of morality and the ignoring of the position of minorities.
You don’t understand democracy but bigots rarely do.
@Carl: When did you first decide to “choose the heterosexual lifestyle” then? When did you choose to be into women?
Seriously, really? This is not something one chooses or decides. And what is wrong with two men or women kissing on tv before the watershed? I have no issues explaining this to my children as I want them to grow up to be open minded, considerate individuals. This will not confuse them or turn kids gay you know. they either are or are not. I d love them regardless.
@ John Duggan
Democracy is about the majority BUT they MUST also look after the minorities .
Russia is still living in the 1940′s. I feel sorry for the LGBT Russian population. Xenophobia and ignorance runs wild in Russia.
Westerners will have difficulty understanding this law, but… 1940′s Russia? That time was, let us say quite different.
Rational minded people will have difficulty in understanding bigotry and prejudice – Yes.
Its not so much Xenophobia , its just national pride , they are proud of their history and people and you should be proud of the Russians too , didn’t they played a major role in defeating Nazi Germany
Russia is a horrible kip.
Russia is a very beautiful country actually. Have you ever been?
Alan,you’ve never been past your front gate, have you?
“[Gay people] can go about their business absolutely freely and unpunished”….oh how kind of you…moron
They get very excited about homosexuals over there.
Must be like the gay cardinal in Scotland.
I thought you retired?
If they spent as much time tackling the corruption in their politics as they did with their gay bashing they’d be on the UN list as the most open democracy in the world!
Don’t think I’ll be putting Russia on my list of places to visit anytime soon.
Oh , and I suppose there’s no corruption within Ireland or the EU ? There is far more corruption within the EU than in Russia.
Lol go and look at the UN reports on international corruption levels. Your above comment is rendered meaningless by them.
To the people saying that Russia lives in the past and is a horible country. That’s a very black and white statement which simply isn’t not true. First of all, the views of a government don’t necessarily reflect the views of it’s people.
Did all the Americans want to invade Iraq? Did all the French people want to legalize same sex marriages (remember the anti gay rallies with hundreds of thousands of people participating?). Did every single Irish person support the bailout? You get the gist.
I have plenty of Russian blood in me, something that i’m really proud of and i have traveled to Russia on many ocasions. Surely it’s not without it’s flavs, there’s xeno/homophobia present (mainly in certain levels of society), corrupt government officials etc. Nevertheless it is a beatiful, modern country, full of great people. Many of them oppose discrimination in general, not just agains the LGBT.
If all Russian people are homophobes then all the Irish are leprechauns. Where’s my pot of gold?
Well then Russia’s majority should be on the streets condemning this law that is anti gay. Please check out YouTube. Unbelievable ignorance by some here.
Have you visited Russia? Do you know any Russian people? I’m sure the answer is no to both.
And that’s ignorance at it’s best :)
Poorly frased, what i wanted to say was judging something or someone you have not had any dealings wth and generalizing people is ingorant. There, i said it.
It is of course wrong to generalise and I’m sure there are many Russian people who are horrified by the people who ‘represent’ them. But the reality is that Russia is a failed state. It’s one of the most corrupt countries on earth, being placed joint 133rd in the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index – alongside such bastions of freedom and democracy as Iran and Kazakhstan – and it is governed by a former KGB man who will cling on to power for as long as he feels like. It’s no surprise to see his government treat gays like second-class citizens and it’s about time the international community stood up to these bully boys.
And this country wants t be a super power, thank feck for the USA.
Because all of america is cool with the gays? Ah here!
Not saying that but under the law of the country they are protected in the USA. Why don’t you go to YouTube and check out what happened in Russia involving protesters and police at a gay pride march. Educate yourself FFS.
You mean the US that is FORCING countries to accept their homosexual “rights” or loose basic aid needed to feed their citizens. Russia knows that if you promote this you will destroy the family and destroy the family and you destroy society.
Good grief, do you think homosexuals are a corrupting society, really? When does this happen?
So bpdeasy, has society been destroyed in the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Canada or New Zealand or any of the states in the US that approve of gay marriage? Where is your evidence?
Under a federal law currently in the USA congress they will be some protected from most discrimination but this graphic from the guardian shows how in many states, especially in the south east, midwest and northwest it is perfectly legal for a privately owned business, and also for some state services to discriminate against and sack people because of their sexuality
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2012/may/08/gay-rights-united-states
“propaganda” that’s a good one!
There is no such thing as ‘gay propaganda’ and there is no such thing as a ‘gay lifestyle’ !!!
Some people are sooo ignorant…
Repressive political regimes and fundamentalist Roman Catholicism have something in common. Each denies the dignity, respect and human rights of individuals.
how are catholics which make up the vast majority of the population of Ireland (last census) denying anybody their rights , when was the last time catholics went out and tried to stop a gay man from doing anything , NEVER , catholics are human beings too , persecuted for their beliefs in the Ireland of today , in fact many have gay friends and get along with gay people , Its important to note catholics too have rights , the right to freedom of expression , the right to hold certain beliefs , I mean if everyone else in the country has rights why would you deny catholics to hold their beliefs ??????????
@ Freebies Ireland, you totally missed the thrust and meaning of my comment. You made 4 errors. Are you a fundamentalist?
Because The Russian Federation is officially a Democratic State and 99% of the Russians are strictly AGAINST propaganda of homosexuality, THAT IS WHY there is such Law (banning gay propaganda) in Russia! When you, people, will understand that?????!!!!
99%…you sound very sure of that. Was it put to a referendum that no one else outside Russia heard about? Even the old tyrant himself Stalin would have said 95 or 96%, if only not to make himself look completely ridiculous!
Brian, don’t be silly.
Silly? I’m not the one plucking statistics out of thin air!
So 99% of Russians are in favour of silencing minorities? Freedom of speech is is a human right. Any country that actively denies human rights is NOT a democracy.
First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Catholic.
Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller
What propaganda? That being gay is a perfectly normal and natural aspect of life? Because it is. That guys can sometimes have boyfriends, or women can sometime have girlfriends? Because they do.
Its not propaganda if it’s actually true.
That makes no sense. Given that about 10% of Russians are going to be LGBTQ, that means that 90% of LGBTQ Russians are against themselves. Outside of certain religious institutions, that’s considered a bit on the awkward side. That’s also assuming there’s not a straight ally in the place. Unlikely, I think.
Anyway, precisely what are LGBTQ people propagandising? “Hello we are people too”? “If you are a kid growing up and you realise you’re gay/bi/trans, that is okay and you are fine just the way you are”? Wow. Sounds scary alright.
He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone.
Lets ban catholic propogranda shall wee.
both that article and the comments on that article are so messed up. I feel so sorry for that guys kids.
Its disgusting actually. I do feel sorry for his kids aswell.
The problem is his children will probably grow up to be just like their father. Just look at the parenting disaster that is Niamh Ni Bhriain!!
Wow…Dad of the year right there. He’d rather his son live a lie than live a lifestyle that a group of old men felt was wrong thousands of years ago when writing their doctrines. Love his Victorian belief that only males can be homosexual, no “advice” for his daughters. Also, eating shellfish is considered more of an abomination in the bible than homosexuality, no tasty lobster for him I guess?!
This is the sort of propaganda that should be banned. Not only is it hateful; it out right lies to people with completely false statistics.
Laura – if you think that is bad check out the comments where someone strongly advises the author of the following “women are more likely to engage in same-sex attraction and act on it. I would encourage you to include women in your future articles and be equally prepared to talk to your daughters about this since it is more likely to affect them”. I kid you not. So messed up
A bird in your hand, poops on your wrist.
What are they afraid of? That’s it’s so great to be gay that we have to keep it a secret?
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