St.Petersburg lawmakers postpone ruling on anti-gay bill
A debate on Russia's proposed anti-gay bill has been shelved after lawmakers failed to agree on its legal definitions.
The law would see people or organisations fined up to £1,000 for the so-called "promotion" of homosexuality.
It would also put a blanket ban on gay Pride events, which have been a contentious issue in recent years.
“We have decided to double-check all legal definitions related to this bill,” its author Vilatly Milonov, a deputy with the ruling United Russia party, told reporters on Wednesday.
The postponement comes after global outrage over the proposed legislation, which has been described by equality activists as hateful.
In a statement made earlier this week, Amnesty International described the bill as a “thinly veiled attempt” to fuel discrimination against St. Petersburg’s gay community.
“The notion that LGBT rights activists are somehow converting Russia’s youth through ‘propaganda’ would be laughable, if the potential effects of this new law weren’t so dangerous and wide-reaching,” Nicola Duckworth, the group’s Europe and Central Asia Program Director, told news site Ria Novosti.
source
The vote is being postponed to next week and if this bill passes it will definitely be used to silence the Russian gay community as they have been trying to do for years. Please go sign this petition and share it with your friends.
The law would see people or organisations fined up to £1,000 for the so-called "promotion" of homosexuality.
It would also put a blanket ban on gay Pride events, which have been a contentious issue in recent years.
“We have decided to double-check all legal definitions related to this bill,” its author Vilatly Milonov, a deputy with the ruling United Russia party, told reporters on Wednesday.
The postponement comes after global outrage over the proposed legislation, which has been described by equality activists as hateful.
In a statement made earlier this week, Amnesty International described the bill as a “thinly veiled attempt” to fuel discrimination against St. Petersburg’s gay community.
“The notion that LGBT rights activists are somehow converting Russia’s youth through ‘propaganda’ would be laughable, if the potential effects of this new law weren’t so dangerous and wide-reaching,” Nicola Duckworth, the group’s Europe and Central Asia Program Director, told news site Ria Novosti.
source
The vote is being postponed to next week and if this bill passes it will definitely be used to silence the Russian gay community as they have been trying to do for years. Please go sign this petition and share it with your friends.