Scroll To Top
World

Dictator Putin Vows to Never Allow Same-Sex Marriage in Russia

Vladimir Putin

There will be no marriage equality while he's in charge, Putin says -- and he wants to amend the constitution to block it later.

trudestress

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his opposition to marriage equality.

"As far as 'parent number 1' and 'parent number 2' goes, I've already spoken publicly about this and I'll repeat it again: As long as I'm president this will not happen. There will be dad and mum," Putin said at a meeting Thursday with a commission discussing amendments to Russia's constitution, Reuters reports.

He also endorsed amending the constitution to prevent same-sex marriages. "We need only to think in what phrases and where to do this," he said.

His opposition to marriage equality is something he shares with one of his biggest admirers, Donald Trump. Trump has said it's a settled issue in the U.S. due to the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling, but he has appointed judges who would favor overturning that ruling or at least undermining it. He has never personally endorsed marriage equality, and he has withdrawn his support for civil unions.

Putin's Russia is a very homophobic and transphobic place, especially given the 2013 law that bans so-called gay propaganda -- really, any positive mention of LGBTQ identity that would be accessible to minors. And Putin has largely ignored the persecution of LGBTQ people in Chechnya, a semiautonomous republic within Russia.

Trump has certainly worked on making the U.S. more hostile to LGBTQ people, with his transgender military ban, gutting of President Barack Obama's policies providing antidiscrimination protections, arguing (through the Justice Department) at the Supreme Court that anti-LGBTQ job discrimination is perfectly legal, and numerous other actions.

The possible changes to Russia's constitution appear to be designed to help Putin keep influencing the nation's affairs even after he leaves office in 2024, Reuters notes. He has alternated holding Russia's two top offices, president and prime minister, since 1999.

trudestress
Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

From our Sponsors

Most Popular

Latest Stories

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.