Florida Agenda

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – St Petersburg Police officials say that dozens of LGBT people have been prosecuted for engaging in “homosexual propaganda” since the city introduced its ban four months ago. According to St Petersburg Police Chief Sergei Umnov, “Seventythree people have been prosecuted for homosexual propaganda, and one person for pedophile propaganda.”

The law was passed in February by St Petersburg’s city assembly, after the introduction of similar laws in the Russian areas of Ryazan in 2006, and Arkhangelsk in 2011. It calls for punishment of “homosexual propaganda” and “pedophile propaganda” with fines of up to $15,600.

Kostroma, Russia has followed suit with a small number of other cities, regions and nations in proposing fines that would be imposed anyone who might “promote” an LGBT lifestyle or political agenda.  The move is similar to bills attempted, shelved and rarely passed into law in some Eastern European nations.

The law would allow authorities to impose fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($1,600) for “public activities promoting homosexuality (sodomy and lesbianism), bisexualism and transgender identity” as well as pedophilia among minors. The promotion of “religious sects” would also be punishable by fines.

Some gay rights advocates in Moscow and St.

Petersburg like Igor Kochetkov of the national group “Coming Out” believe that the government is deliberately trying to divert attention away from more pressing issues regarding the economy and social ills.  Others believe that these laws could pass and severely limit the civil rights of LGBT’s in Russia.

Russians like Yelena Kostyuchenko who writes for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, are concerned about the language of the proposed legislation, namely the association of sexual orientation with choice. It is a “biological quality”, she says, and therefore “cannot be promoted”.

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak backed a controversial regional bill proposed by the ruling United Russia party to issue fines for “propaganda of homosexuality.”

In St. Petersburg, Kozak said he supported the bid to introduce fines for “disgusting activity,” according to the Vancouver Sun. Kozak went even further, suggesting the bill should be considered for inclusion in national legislation.

The bill proposed by United Russia would introduce fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($1,625) for “public acts aimed at promoting homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgender identity to minors.”

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Authorities in Moscow are proposing a bill that will outlaw the “promotion of homosexuality.” The bill would impose a fine for the promotion of gay “propaganda.”

The bill follows legislation titled “The Promotion of Homosexuality, Lesbianism, and Transgenderism to Minors” in St. Petersburg Russia which passed on its first of three readings.

Under the bill, anyone who committed “public acts” promoting homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender identity to minors could pay up to 3,000 rubles ($97.50) while an organization could pay 10,000 to 50,000 rubles. The bill gave no definition of a “public act” with activists saying it could be used to crack down on gay pride events which are regularly banned in Russia.