In a baffling move of backwardness, Russia’s Lower Parliament has decided to back the ban of the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” which is basically a pleasant way of saying that the government can start punishing its citizens for the mention of homosexuality.
Russia’s shame
In a baffling move of backwardness, Russia’s Lower Parliament has decided to back the ban of the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” which is basically a pleasant way of saying that the government can start punishing its citizens for the mention of homosexuality.
Russia’s State Duma voted unanimously, 436 to 0, to pass the bill that, if it is approved by the Upper House and President Vladimir Putin, will make giving information about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals to minors punishable by fines and even jail time.
This appalling decision came shortly after Russia also decided to ban gay pride parades in the capital for the next 100 years. That’s not an exaggeration. Russia literally has banned them until the year 2112.
This outrageous edict has made even waving a rainbow flag forbidden. Despite being ludicrous, the local authorities have actually upheld these decisions and arrested two women just for unfurling their colorful flag. Another 45 demonstrators and protestors were taken on the same day.
All of these basic rights that members of our society can use to express themselves are quite likely going to be denied soon to the Russian public. Whether it’s an LGBT demonstration, a speech in defense of gay rights, or, god forbid, the idea that homosexual couples are equal to heterosexual couples, those basic liberties will be illegal in Russia.
As a pampered American thriving in the cushy liberal college environment we have here at Portland State, it’s hard for me to swallow those words. Illegal to tell your children that homosexuals are equals? Not allowed to throw LGBT parades? Arrested for whipping out a flag? Somehow, there is a disconnect in my brain that cannot fathom such a situation, and I’m guessing many others from our school would feel the same.
Perhaps this atrocious movement in Russia was fueled by the recent legislation in France, who on May 18 of this year passed a bill that made gay marriage legal. Despite an estimated 150,000 people marching in Paris to protest the legalization of “marriage for all,” protestors remained surprisingly peaceful, though their presence highlights the difficulties of achieving equality even in moments of victory.
I can only guess what would happen in our own country if someone tried to take away so many freedoms from us. I imagine that even some very conservative individuals or Americans against same-sex marriage would still be horrified if we suddenly started fining people for talking about homosexuality or throwing them in prison for waving a flag.
Those who actually do support equal rights for all would probably have a conniption fit if such liberties were denied to us. There would be mass protests and angry citizens all over the place. We’re ’Muricans, after all, and we take our freedoms more seriously than pretty much anything else.
Still, Oregon and the majority of states in the U.S. have yet to legalize gay marriage. Being upset with Russia for some of its asinine policies might be appropriate but a bit premature and hypocritical on our part. The little liberal bubble we live in has given me enough self-righteousness to be outraged, but are we really so far past a similar point?
We don’t struggle with a life where the mention of homosexuality is outlawed, or where raising children to understand the concept of same-sex couples is punishable by law, but we do live in a state that robs some citizens of their fundamental rights.
Whether you agree or disagree with same-sex marriage is irrelevant; individuals get to make decisions for their personal lives that shouldn’t have anything to do with what other people think, because it’s just that—personal. But the basic human rights and liberties that every American is entitled to are more than personal the basic human rights and liberties that every American is entitled to, and hopefully our outrage at Russia’s injustice will help to fuel our own fight for equality here at home.
