Russia Repeals Gay Blood Ban

Russia repealed
its six-year ban on gay blood donors after a tumultuous
battle between gay activist groups and the Russian Minister
of Health and Social Development. Tatyana Golikova,
the minister of the department, signed the decree on
April 16, but members of the media were not informed
until Thursday night, according to the U.K. Gay News.

Activists have
been campaigning against the ban since April 2006, when
they sent a letter to the ministry of health and social
development asking for a repeal of the ban because it
was unconstitutional. In September 2007, activists
attempted to picket the ministry's office in Moscow,
but the Prefecture of the Central Administrative Area of
Moscow banned the demonstration for security reasons,
according to the article.

In 1993
consensual gay sex was legalized, and Russia's authority on
psychology decided in 1999 that homosexuality was not a
classified as a mental illness.

“Russian
legislation finally got rid of the last direct
discriminatory provision against homosexual people,"
Russian LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseev told reporters
in Brazil. "Now we are going to ask for positive
actions of the authorities in order to directly ban
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Russia
law as well as criminal prosecution for hate speeches
and aggressive homophobia.” (The Advocate)