This is how Russia’s homophobe-in-chief Vladimir Putin is trying to cling to power for another 16 years
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty)
Russia’s Constitutional Court has approved changes to the country’s constitution which could allow homophobic president Vladimir Putin to stay in power for another 16 years.
Putin has already been president of Russia since 2000, but current term limits would prevent him from running for president again in the 2024 elections.
According to Daily Journal, the amendment to the constitution would reset his term count, meaning he would be able to lead Russia for two more six-year terms after the election.
Putin and his government banned “gay propaganda” in 2013, adding to the discrimination, persecution and violence that queer people face in the country.
Researchers found that hate crimes against the LGBT+ community have doubled since the introduction of the “gay propaganda” law.
In 2017, Putin claimed that it is his “duty” to stop gay people getting married so that people have more babies.
The change in law must still be approved by a nation-wide referendum, which is planned for April 22.
Vladimir Putin is also trying to outlaw same-sex marriage in the Russian constitution.
Vladimir Putin has also proposed other alterations to the Russian constitution.
According to the Russian news agency RIA, the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, received 24 pages of proposed changes on March 2.
These including defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, and enshrining “ideals and faith in God” in the constitution.
Deputy chairman of the lower house Pyotr Tolstoy said: “For me, the most important thing is the proposal to fix the concept of marriage as a union of a man and a woman in the basic law.”
Last month, the Russian president went on an anti-LGBT+ rant, vowing that there would be no same-sex marriage or adoption as long as he is in the Kremlin.
He said: “As far as ‘parent number one’ and ‘parent number two’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again: As long as I’m president this will not happen.
“There will be dad and mum.”
