Russian MP rallies against homophobe-in-chief Vladimir Putin’s ‘absolutely insane’ ban of same-sex marriage
Russian State Duma member Oksana Pushkina. (Sergei BobylevTASS via Getty Images)
A Russian lawmaker sought to stop president Vladimir Putin and his “insane” constitutional ban on same-sex marriage Wednesday (15 July).
Putin proposed the amendment in early March, in what political analysts saw as the leader’s tacit attempt to stir interest in a plebiscite that would decide whether he could rule until at least 2036.
Months on, and with a turnout that delivered a thumping win for the 67-year-old independent, and all eyes lie on how Putin, with his perch in power secured, will shape Russia in the decade to come.
In a package of hot button pledges he made in the run-up to the referendum, Putin said he would overhaul the country’s constitution to define marriage. Marriage equality is already banned, meaning a constitutional re-write will only make a pathway to LGBT+ equality even dimmer for Russian activists.
High-profile lawmaker and television presenter Oksana Pushkina, however, has defied her colleagues. In an interview with Russian channel TV Rain, called the marriage ban bill “an absolutely insane law”.
As Vladimir Putin and his cronies move forward to ban marriage equality, one MP makes her opposition clear.
The amendment serves to intensify the already existing law in the books – the so-called gay propaganda ban – that already see people be banned from advocating “non-traditional” relationships to youth.
As a result, a small bloc of seven politicians and Putin loyalists, emboldened by their leader’s mandate, introduced a roster of bills that would not only outright ban same-sex marriages but snarl even further the country’s already flimsy LGBT+ rights.
This includes banning same-sex couples adopting and banning those who have undergone gender affirmation surgery from adopting, too.
A slew of constitutional amendments has banned same-sex marriage in Russia and granted Putin power until 2036 (Getty)
The bloc was led by senator Yelena Mizulina – a key architect behind the gay propaganda bill and who believes “gays are people, too” should be considered extremist by the country’s federal welfare agency.
In making her opposition to the ban clear, Duma member Pushkina said: “Sexual orientation can not be the basis for restricting civil rights.”
Many of the proposals pitched by Putin have brought to the foreground the president’s conservative worldview, where supporting the Russian Orthodox Church and salting policies with a hint of Soviet nostalgia are prioritised often at the cost human rights.
Only recently, a Kremlin representative attempted to downplay Putin stamping out LGBT+ rights and overseeing the torture and abuse of queer folk are by saying he is simply defending Russia’s “national principles”.
Sure, Jan.
