St Petersburg May Fine Gays Who Are Open
In the city of Anna Karenina, St. Petersburg, legislators have passed a first reading of a bill that would impose fines on gays or lesbians who openly profess their sexual orientation. According to the English language newspaper, The Moscow Times, the bill would do this by outlawing any public display or even discussion of the LGBT lifestyle which might be observed by minors. Although the legislation only prohibits the "promotion" of a LGBT lifestyle, it amounts to blanket bans on expressing gay sexuality in any public form because it is next to impossible to prevent minors from being exposed to it.
The bill proposes fines of 3,000 to 5,000 roubles ($100 to $160) for individuals and up to 50,000 roubles for organizations engaged in "public activities to promote sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transsexuality" that might be observed by children.
The St. Petersburg legislature passed the bill in a first reading Tuesday with a vote of 37-1, with one abstention. The bill needs to pass two more readings, the dates for which have not been set.
"The rising popularity of sexual deviations influences our children in a negative way," said the bill's author, Vitaly Milonov, a United Russia deputy.
Another deputy, Yelena Babich of the Liberal Democrat Party, denounced even the rainbow-colored decorations that covered St. Petersburg during its City Day celebrations in May as gay propaganda.
The St. Petersburg bill appeared to be modelled on near-identical legislation passed in the Arkhangelsk region in September. Lawmakers introduced a similar ban in the Ryazan region in 2006.
St. Petersburg gay rights activists protested the legislation on Tuesday through a series of one-person pickets — the only form of public protest that doesn't require permission from authorities. They also pledged to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
The bill is an attempt to bank on widespread homophobic sentiment ahead of the State Duma elections on Dec. 4, said Igor Kochetkov, head of LGBT group Vykhod (Exit).
"The bill is passed before elections to boost the popularity of United Russia, which is flagging in St. Petersburg," Kochetkov told the Moscow Times.
"This bill smacks of the Middle Ages," he said.
Gay communities in St. Petersburg and Moscow have campaigned for years to hold gay pride rallies, but their requests have been thrown out by authorities. Unsanctioned events led to crackdowns by riot police and nationalists. Former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov even denounced the rallies as "satanic."
Sometimes it feels as if we are going backwards. All very depressing.