Is it possible to silence thousands of people with the stroke of a pen?
It is in Russia, apparently.
Lawmakers in St. Petersburg are trying to pass a law banning the promotion of “gay propaganda.” The law would institute a fine up to $1,600 for “public actions aimed at propagandizing sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality, and transgenderism among minors.” According to the International Herald Tribune, legislators in Moscow plan to introduce a similar bill, and a speaker in the upper house of Parliament has implied that a national bill could soon follow.
This law is a massive middle finger to human rights. It prohibits any public protests for LGBT rights from taking place. It will also stop people from writing books and articles about being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, and prevents anyone from speaking out in defense of the LGBT community.
If JC was in St. Petersburg, I could not write the very editorial you are reading right now. My column would be illegal.
The new law presents an even more troubling dilemma for LGBT couples with children. Must they now hide who they are from their own children, in accordance with the “protection” of minors?
Sadly, this law is not all that surprising. Russia classified homosexuality as a mental illness until 1999, and it became de-criminalized in 1993, but rampant homophobia remains.
According to a study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, Russian attitudes against homosexuals have become more hostile through the years. Fifty-nine percent of the Russian population felt that homosexuality was wrong in 1991, compared to 68 percent in 2008.
In a 2010 poll, when Russians were asked what kind of person they wouldn’t like to have as their neighbor, drug addicts, former criminals, and homosexuals were the most common answers.
Since we Americans are lucky enough to have freedom of speech, we must use it. Just reading this column and nodding your head in agreement won’t do a thing. Everyone who values human rights has an obligation to protest this discriminatory law.
The petition against the law, with almost 150,000signatures and growing, can be found here at http://www.allout.org/en/actions/russia_silenced/taf.
Sign it. The government officials in St. Petersburg must be shown that no amount of paper and ink can silence us.
Scott Novak is an Opinion Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.