Outcry prompts St Petersburg legislature to reconsider ‘gay propaganda’ law
St Petersburg lawmakers are reportedly reconsidering the provisions of a “gay propaganda” law which passed its first reading by 27 votes to 1 this week.
Vilatly Milonov, a member of the United Russia party who proposed the bill, told media: “We have decided to double-check all legal definitions related to this bill.”
The new law passed by 27 votes to 1, having been introduced by the ruling United Russia party.
It introduces fines for “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism, to minors” and “propaganda of paedophilia”, but the severity of these are now also being addressed.
There have been numerous demonstrations in St Petersburg against the law, and LGBT rights group AllOUt.org launched an emergency petition against the legislation, which had 165,000 signatories at the time of publication.
AllOut.org Co-founder Andre Banks said: “Because Russia is a powerful nation, the international community has stayed silent—not one major world leader has yet to speak out against this bill.