Video: Band creates video protesting recent Russian anti-gay laws
A band has dedicated a new single from its debut album to supporting gay and lesbian people in Russia, and in opposition to recently passed anti-gay laws.
The track Moscow, by band Autoheart contains a strong message of opposition to the laws, which federally banned homosexual “propaganda”, and which have been widely regarded as a step backwards for LGBT rights in the country.
In the description for the video, the band says the lyrics are about the “daft optimism of being in love”, but then goes on to note the passage of the laws.
The video contains an image of two soldiers kissing in front of the Kremlin, as an act of defiance against the law. The band notes Section 28, similar legislation passed in the UK 1987 by the Tory Government under Margaret Thatcher.
The description reads; “We are lucky in Britain to have laws that mean whether we are gay, straight, bisexual or anything in between, our relationships are recognised and our rights protected by law. But in Russia there is an anti-gay crisis happening right now: their government does not want to afford their people those same rights and are trying to criminalise even the discussion of gay equality.
“Something similar happened in Britain not long ago: Section 28, brought in by Thatcher’s Tory party in the Eighties to stop teachers from talking about same-sex relationships in a positive way, was only repealed in 2003.
“These laws only serve to protect intolerance, ignorance, homophobia and hate crimes… In our video, two gay Russian soldiers kiss in front of the Kremlin — yet just last month same a group of same-sex couples in Moscow were violently attacked and then arrested for doing just this.”
There has been an international outcry recently, as several pieces of legislation have passed through the Russian Parliament, banning or inhibiting the rights of LGBT people.
The bill, which has since been signed by President Vladimir Putin, bans foreign same-sex couples and unmarried individuals in countries where same-sex marriage is legal from adopting Russian children.
The song was taken from the band’s debut album Punch, which is available to buy from 15 July. The video was directed by Gavin Leisfield, and will be available from 8 July.
The band encourages supporters to sign an AllOut petition, which already contains over 200,000 signatures, and calls from President Putin and other world leaders to act against the anti-gay legislation.
