Fifty members of
Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, including
Barney Frank (pictured), have sent a letter to Russian
president Vladimir Putin, urging him to condemn
antigay violence that has occurred during pride
celebrations in Moscow.
Fifty members of
Congress from both parties joined in sending a letter to
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday, urging him to
condemn the antigay violence that occurred during
pride celebrations in Moscow in May. The letter
(reproduced below) accuses Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of
Moscow, of encouraging the violence by refusing to issue a
parade permit and by announcing that the city's law
enforcement forces would be unable to protect the
marchers.
Gay Massachusetts
congressman Barney Frank was the driving force behind
the letter, and he was joined by fellow out representatives
Tammy Baldwin and Jim Kolbe as well as 47 others.
Putin has made no
public statements about the violence or about the
rights of LGBT Russians in general. "It would be
particularly appropriate for President Putin to speak
out against these attacks and help prevent future
abuses," Frank said in a statement, "now that Russia
holds the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers within
the Council of Europe, a body dedicated to defending
human rights and promoting rule of law."
(Advocate.com)
The letter
follows:
June 30, 2006
His Excellency
Vladimir V. Putin
President of the Russian
Federation
4 Staraya Square
Moscow
103132 Russia
Dear President
Putin,
We write as
members of the United States Congress to express our dismay
over the riots and violence against gay and lesbian marchers
in Moscow during a gay pride parade in late May.
It seems to us
evident that any government of the people would seek to
protect all people, so we were very disappointed that Moscow
mayor Luzhkov claimed in denying the parade permit
that he would not be able to ensure the safety of the
marchers.
We believe that
the mayor's public statements and his banning of the
parade itself--as well as the fact that provocative and
violently anti-gay statements by religious leaders and
others went unrepudiated by elected officials--helped
create a situation in which violence against gay and
lesbian people was in fact more likely to happen, if not
inevitable.
In fact, given
reports that some police stood by while gay and lesbian
marchers were attacked, it is difficult for us to believe
that the police were unable to protect the marchers,
but instead were simply unwilling to do so.
We hope you agree
that violence against people based on sexual
orientation--people who are doing no harm to anyone else--is
outrageous and not acceptable. We urge you to publicly
make clear this sentiment to those who would seek to
do harm to gay and lesbian individuals, to public
officials and civil leaders who provoke or inadequately
respond to such violence, and to the gay and lesbian
citizens of Moscow and beyond who deserve to live,
gather and associate without fear of violence.
REP. BARNEY
FRANK
REP. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT
REP.
STENY H. HOYER
REP. TOM LANTOS
REP.
MICHAEL N. CASTLE
REP. JAMES A. LEACH
REP. NITA M. LOWEY
REP. GARY L. ACKERMAN
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS
REP. CAROLYN B.
MALONEY
REP. JOSEPH CROWLEY
REP.
DENNIS J. KUCINICH
REP. JAMES P. McGOVERN
REP. STEVEN R. ROTHMAN
REP. JERROLD NADLER
REP. LOIS CAPPS
REP. MICHAEL R. McNULTY
REP. DONALD M. PAYNE
REP. JANICE D.
SCHAKOWSKY
REP. RUBÉN HINOJOSA
REP. SAM FARR
REP. TAMMY BALDWIN
REP.
LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD
REP. RUSH D. HOLT
REP. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ
REP. MARTIN T. MEEHAN
REP. FRANK PALLONE JR.
REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS
REP. PETER A. DeFAZIO
REP. STENY H. HOYER
REP. JIM KOLBE
REP. HOWARD L. BERMAN
REP. ROBERT WEXLER
REP. MAXINE WATERS
REP. EARL BLUMENAUER
REP. ELIOT L. ENGEL
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN
REP. RAÚL M.
GRIJALVA
REP. MARY BONO
REP. CAROLYN
McCARTHY
REP. JIM McDERMOTT
REP.
SHERROD BROWN
REP. BARBARA LEE
REP.
KENDRICK B. MEEK
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN
SCHULTZ
REP. GWEN MOORE
REP. ZOE
LOFGREN
REP. JOHN W. OLVER
REP. LINDA
T. SÁNCHEZ
REP. WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT
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