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On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the ban on “gay propaganda” amongst minors, currently under review in the RF Gosduma, doesn’t infringe on human rights… unlike “gay propaganda” itself, saying, “We’re not discriminating against anyone, we just don’t want reverse discrimination, when one group of citizens gets the right to aggressively impose their values, unsupported by most of the population, especially on children”. He spoke after his Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans urged the lower chamber of the RF Federal Assembly, the RF Gosduma, to drop the controversial bill on gay propaganda because it might violate international agreements on human rights. Lavrov replied, speaking at a press conference after a meeting with Timmermans, “We don’t have a single global or pan-European obligation to allow gay propaganda”. He pointed up that Russia fulfilled all of its humanitarian obligations regarding same-sex relations when it decriminalised male homosexual contact in 1993. Lavrov noted that instead of campaigning for Russian gays, the EU should deal with flagrant rights violations on its own turf, most notably the case regarding “non-citizens” in Estonia and Latvia, who were denied citizenship after these countries declared independence from the USSR.
The Gosduma voted 388 to one in support of the “gay propaganda” ban in the first of three required readings in late January. Several dozen opponents and supporters of the bill marked the occasion with violent clashes outside the Gosduma building in central Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton criticised the bill after the first reading, saying it could infringe human rights. Russian lawmakers are currently working on a legal definition of “gay propaganda” ahead of the crucial second reading, which wouldn’t take place before late May. The ban in its current form envisages fines of 4,000 to 500,000 roubles (130 to 16,290 USD. 100 to 12,480 Euros. 85 to 10,750 UK Pounds) for individuals and organisations trying to convince minors of the benefits of same-sex relations.
Eleven of 83 Russian oblast-level entities installed similar bans since 2006; many of them also cover bisexual and transsexual relations, which aren’t part of the federal bill. The list of entities includes St Petersburg, where conservative activists unsuccessfully sued pop star Madonna last year for “gay propaganda” over her speaking out in support of the city’s gays during a show in August. A poll by VTsIOM last April showed that 94 percent of Russians never encountered gay propaganda, but 86 percent support a ban on it. The nationwide poll covered 1,600 respondents and had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points. Russian authorities have never sanctioned a gay pride rally, although LGBT activists have applied for permits in Moscow since 2006. Last May, the St Petersburg authorities permitted a rally against homophobia, but dozens of masked thugs, all of whom evaded arrest, attacked its participants.
26 February 2013
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130226/179698723/Gay-Propaganda-Ban-Not-Discrimination–Russian-FM.html
Editor’s Note:
Sergei Viktorovich speaks the plain truth. Russia isn’t recriminalising homosexuality… the bill has no provisions for imprisonment. The Church isn’t calling for the criminalisation of homosexuality, either. As HH said, “The Church respects all human decisions, including those of sexual orientation”. What the Church and state ARE calling for is a criminalisation of homosexual propaganda, strictly-defined as the suborning or influencing of minors. Note well that the St Petersburg lawsuit against Madonna failed. That’s because it failed the test of meeting the law’s definition. You simply can’t harass gays with a charge of “homosexual propaganda”; you have to bring evidence that they actually tried to influence a minor child.
Therefore, disregard the caterwauls that you hear from the konvertsy regarding homosexuality and the Church. They’re ignorant and they don’t speak the Church’s mind nor express its dogmatic theology (their “view” is made up of equal parts of fantasy, half-digested theologumenae, and sectarian notions). Besides which, they’re fanatics of the worst sort. Fr Andrew Phillips spoke well on that topic here. He truly said:
This is true even of the lesser forms of fanaticism… schism, sectarianism, ”guruism”, and so-called “traditionalism”. Fanatical movements are often made up of individuals with unhappy, unbalanced, and unstable childhoods. So are sects and cults founded. The first characteristic in these is dissatisfaction… nothing else is good enough; the members can’t accept what others accept. They are “different” and “better” than others are, as can be seen in special dress, jargon, or practises, which are often exotic. In fanaticism, there’s much anti-social introversion, self-centredness, and self-discussion, with condemnation of others and self-imposed exaltation and isolation, the failure to integrate. This is all the pride of delusion.
That truly describes James Paffhausen, Rod Dreher, the Monomakhos lot, and the HOOMie cultists, none of whom are truly Orthodox in their heart-of-hearts. That’s why they want a crusade against gays. By the way, a “crusade” is profoundly un-Orthodox… haven’t they learnt that? Obviously, not… it does take all kinds, doesn’t it? Pass me the jug…
BMD
Lavrov sez Gay Propaganda Ban “Not Discrimination”
Tags: Catherine Ashton, diplomacy, diplomatic relations, EU, European Union, Frans Timmerman, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russian), political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Sergei Lavrov
______________________________
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the ban on “gay propaganda” amongst minors, currently under review in the RF Gosduma, doesn’t infringe on human rights… unlike “gay propaganda” itself, saying, “We’re not discriminating against anyone, we just don’t want reverse discrimination, when one group of citizens gets the right to aggressively impose their values, unsupported by most of the population, especially on children”. He spoke after his Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans urged the lower chamber of the RF Federal Assembly, the RF Gosduma, to drop the controversial bill on gay propaganda because it might violate international agreements on human rights. Lavrov replied, speaking at a press conference after a meeting with Timmermans, “We don’t have a single global or pan-European obligation to allow gay propaganda”. He pointed up that Russia fulfilled all of its humanitarian obligations regarding same-sex relations when it decriminalised male homosexual contact in 1993. Lavrov noted that instead of campaigning for Russian gays, the EU should deal with flagrant rights violations on its own turf, most notably the case regarding “non-citizens” in Estonia and Latvia, who were denied citizenship after these countries declared independence from the USSR.
The Gosduma voted 388 to one in support of the “gay propaganda” ban in the first of three required readings in late January. Several dozen opponents and supporters of the bill marked the occasion with violent clashes outside the Gosduma building in central Moscow. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton criticised the bill after the first reading, saying it could infringe human rights. Russian lawmakers are currently working on a legal definition of “gay propaganda” ahead of the crucial second reading, which wouldn’t take place before late May. The ban in its current form envisages fines of 4,000 to 500,000 roubles (130 to 16,290 USD. 100 to 12,480 Euros. 85 to 10,750 UK Pounds) for individuals and organisations trying to convince minors of the benefits of same-sex relations.
Eleven of 83 Russian oblast-level entities installed similar bans since 2006; many of them also cover bisexual and transsexual relations, which aren’t part of the federal bill. The list of entities includes St Petersburg, where conservative activists unsuccessfully sued pop star Madonna last year for “gay propaganda” over her speaking out in support of the city’s gays during a show in August. A poll by VTsIOM last April showed that 94 percent of Russians never encountered gay propaganda, but 86 percent support a ban on it. The nationwide poll covered 1,600 respondents and had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points. Russian authorities have never sanctioned a gay pride rally, although LGBT activists have applied for permits in Moscow since 2006. Last May, the St Petersburg authorities permitted a rally against homophobia, but dozens of masked thugs, all of whom evaded arrest, attacked its participants.
26 February 2013
RIA-Novosti
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130226/179698723/Gay-Propaganda-Ban-Not-Discrimination–Russian-FM.html
Editor’s Note:
Sergei Viktorovich speaks the plain truth. Russia isn’t recriminalising homosexuality… the bill has no provisions for imprisonment. The Church isn’t calling for the criminalisation of homosexuality, either. As HH said, “The Church respects all human decisions, including those of sexual orientation”. What the Church and state ARE calling for is a criminalisation of homosexual propaganda, strictly-defined as the suborning or influencing of minors. Note well that the St Petersburg lawsuit against Madonna failed. That’s because it failed the test of meeting the law’s definition. You simply can’t harass gays with a charge of “homosexual propaganda”; you have to bring evidence that they actually tried to influence a minor child.
Therefore, disregard the caterwauls that you hear from the konvertsy regarding homosexuality and the Church. They’re ignorant and they don’t speak the Church’s mind nor express its dogmatic theology (their “view” is made up of equal parts of fantasy, half-digested theologumenae, and sectarian notions). Besides which, they’re fanatics of the worst sort. Fr Andrew Phillips spoke well on that topic here. He truly said:
That truly describes James Paffhausen, Rod Dreher, the Monomakhos lot, and the HOOMie cultists, none of whom are truly Orthodox in their heart-of-hearts. That’s why they want a crusade against gays. By the way, a “crusade” is profoundly un-Orthodox… haven’t they learnt that? Obviously, not… it does take all kinds, doesn’t it? Pass me the jug…
BMD