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Russian City Tries to Outlaw Gay Events

Russian City Tries to Outlaw Gay Events

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Lawmakers in St. Petersburg, Russia, have tentatively approved legislation that would prohibit gay pride parades and any public event or discussion dealing with LGBT issues that could be observed by minors.

The Moscow Times described the bill as "curiously equating such acts to promotion of pedophilia." LGBT activists called it "medieval," and legal experts thought it vulnerable to court challenges, but proponents said it is, if anything, insufficiently harsh. "The rising popularity of sexual deviations influences our children in a negative way," said its author, Vitaly Milonov.

The city's legislature passed the bill in a first reading Tuesday with a vote of 37-1, with one abstention. It needs to pass two more readings, which have not been scheduled.

Igor Kochetkov of the LGBT group Vykhod said the legislation "smacks of the Middle Ages" and called it a ploy to increase the popularity of the United Russia political party in advance of the state election December 4. Activists staged a series of one-person pickets, the only form of public protest that doesn't require government permission, on Tuesday. They also said they would ask the European Court of Human Rights to intervene.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.