In other homophobic and not so shocking news, Governor Georgiy Poltavchanko signed a homophobic law banning the so-called “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism, and pedophilia to minors.” The law will go into effect in 10 days.
This is such a tragic situation not only for the already marginalized gays of Russia, but also because of the image Russia is putting out in the world. It’s shocking that this comes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lectured the world for an hour at the UN summit about LGBT rights. I am a optimist when it comes to LGBT rights, and her speech raised my hopes much higher. Her words will have little effect on countries like Iran and Uganda, but it was shocking to hear of Russia’s decision.
What scares me the most is the message this may send to India; the verdict on 377 is still in the air. While I firmly believe that the Supreme Court will uphold the High Court’s decision, who’s to say they won’t be influenced by Russia’s decision? And should happen…. I don’t want to imagine what would happen.
Russian Federation-Update: Governor signs homophobic law into force
