Degenerate statists: St. Petersburg Prepares To Pass Ban On ‘Homosexual Propaganda’

As the lead singer of a St. Petersburg rock band, Gena Bogolepov has seldom taken an active interest in politics.

Degenerate statists: St. Petersburg Prepares To Pass Ban On ‘Homosexual Propaganda’ 83beae35ac7a4041a453d20

A man attacks a gay rights activist during an unsanctioned gay pride parade in St. Petersburg in June.

But a bill working its way through the city's Legislative Assembly that would outlaw so-called “homosexual propaganda” has changed all that.

With the legislation on the verge of passage, Bogolepov, a 26-year-old homosexual, has cast off his political apathy and begun to actively protest what he sees as the authorities' latest move to marginalize sexual minorities.

“The problem is that [this law] can be used in any way that they want to use it. The term ‘propaganda’ is very wide," Bogolepov says. "Any person who is homosexual may actually qualify as the ‘propaganda’ itself. This legislation unties the hands of the government [to act] against all transgendered, bisexual, and homosexual people.”

The bill, which equates openly professing homosexuality with promoting pedophilia, sailed through its first reading in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly by a vote of 37-1.

If the bill passes in its current form, individuals could be fined between 3,000 to 5,000 rubles ($100 to $160) for publicly promoting their homosexuality. Organizations could be fined up to 50,000 rubles ($1,600) for “public activities promoting sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism, and transsexuality.”

Gays As Scapegoats

Russian gay rights groups see the legislation as the latest step in a longstanding -- and disturbing -- trend in Russia, where gay pride marches are consistently prohibited and violently broken up by police and where prominent politicians regularly make transparently homophobic comments.

Nikolai Alekseyev, the founder of Moscow Gay Pride, says the St. Petersburg authorities have proposed the new legislation in order to pander to homophobic attitudes in society ahead of the State Duma elections on December 4.

“In my view, this is a topic that appeals to the majority of the electorate ahead of elections," Alekseyev says. "Gays are being used as scapegoats in this electoral campaign as people who are responsible for all the problems in the country -- social, economic, and so on. That’s why I think they are implementing this law now in particular.”

Bogolepov, meanwhile, says the legislation has driven him and his friends toward activism. He has started blogging to raise awareness of the issue, has signed several petitions submitted to the local authorities, and intends to join public demonstrations against the legislation.

http://www.rferl.org/content/russia_st_petersburg_homosexual_propaganda_gay_rights/24404569.html

Degenerate statists: St. Petersburg Prepares To Pass Ban On ‘Homosexual Propaganda’

Degenerate statists: St. Petersburg Prepares To Pass Ban On ‘Homosexual Propaganda’

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