Russia's third-largest city yesterday passed the so-called gay
propaganda law - prohibiting anything deemed to promote same-sex
relations.
Novosibirsk's regional legislature passed the law yesterday,
following in the footsteps of St.Petersburg and Moscow.
"Today we are talking about protecting the majority
of people who are not associated with homosexuality,
to keep them from having to explain to their
children that things like this happen," regional deputy Alexander
Ilyushchenko said, RIA-Novosti reported.
"We are speaking about first and foremost all kinds
of gay pride parades, because there is no overt propaganda,
but most of it comes to promotion in places where
there could be minors," he said.
Naturally, the move has angered gay equality activists who
describe the law as archaic.
Earlier this week, a straight man arrested for holding a gay
rights banner in St. Petersburg was found guilty of "disobeying
police orders" - and ultimately not charged under the city's new
"homosexual propaganda" law.
Sergey Kondrashov was detained by police two weeks ago in the
first example of Russia's LGBT crackdown.
The judge cited a lack of evidence, and protocols, in explaining
the absence of the charge in her final decision. Kondrashov, an
attorney, and other human and civil rights activists in Russia, say
this is further proof of the new law's un-enforceability - and
un-constitutionality.
The Ryazan, Kostroma and Arkhangelsk regions also ban
so-called homosexual propaganda.
