LGBTI+ "propaganda" could be completely banned in Russia

The Russian State Duma discussed proposals to ban LGBT propaganda.

On October 17, parliamentary hearings were held in the State Duma on a bill banning LGBT propaganda and other legislative initiatives that would impose punishment for the denial of family values and the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations. According to the Russian deputies, the West uses the ideology of “denying family values” to enslave countries, and the threat of a change of power in the Russian Federation is hidden in LGBT propaganda.

A bill equating “the denial of family values and propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” with inciting ethnic hatred was submitted to the State Duma by a group of deputies from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, A Just Russia - For Truth and Motherland back in July and has not yet been considered in the first reading on the agenda. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said today that the draft law and related initiatives could be submitted to Parliament next week and approved by the end of October. According to him, the document, approved by the deputies, may be signed by the President of the Russian Federation as early as November.

“We are protecting Russia from the darkness that is spreading more and more in the world,” he stressed.

Volodin cited VTsIOM data, according to which, over the past ten years, the number of citizens who believe that what is happening in society speaks of the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations has allegedly doubled. The speaker concluded that people are being “pressured” and blamed Western countries for this, which, in his opinion, use LGBT ideology to change government in states.

Changes are expected to be made to five sectoral laws, as well as to the Code of Administrative Offenses. In fact, the law, if passed, would equate “propaganda”, “popularization” or “sympathetic portrayal” of LGBT+ people with propaganda of extremism, drugs and suicide.

The draft of one of the laws provides for fines for promoting LGBT values up to 400,000 rubles for individuals, up to 800,000 for officials, and up to 5 million rubles for legal entities.