As the Russian city of St. Petersburg moves ever closer towards passing a proposed bill banning all public mention of anything LGBT-related, the U.S. state department said that gay rights are human rights (and vice-versa) and that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow would look into it.
Now Russia’s foreign ministry representative for human rights Konstantin Dolgov has called the U.S. comments “inappropriate” and added, “We view with bewilderment the American side’s attempts to interfere, what’s more, publicly, in the lawmaking process.” Yeah guys, let Russia criminalize their LGBT citizens in peace!
Oh, and did we mention that the law may be in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights, which Russia signed onto? One Russian activist thinks the bill is merely a ploy to distract citizens from the country’s unresolved economic and social problems. Gee, ya think?
Luckily online pressure is building against Russia’s proposed bill and hopefully more world leaders will continue applying diplomatic pressure by speaking out against the bill.
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Via Think Progress
quantheory
Ah yes, the usual squawking of a corrupt and oppressive government.
“We have the right to make our own laws, don’t we? So everyone else is wrong to even care how much damage we do within our own borders!”
sic!
Like Russian government cares about diplomatic pressure ever 😀 They will do whatever they want, no one can change their minds, because they simply don’t care about any opinions of yours (so called western civilization)! Now please continue writing about other hopeless topics
Christopher
There is a public discussion about the whole topic in Russia itself and I believe it will will probably come to a good end. American comments however don’t do anything good for this fight because… well we all know the history. Just like you could decrease public support on a lot of matters in the USA if you tell the people that’s how the “commies” do it and we would want to do it aswell. Russia is like a big kid and even if they know that going forward with this thing might be a bad idea they might just do it because the Americans told them NOT to do it :>
Ridiculous
I’m not sure what’s more absurd — Russia’s bizarre law or the notion that the profoundly homophobic US government is somehow in a position to criticize it.
Dorothea from Germany
@Christopher: “they might just do it because the Americans told them NOT to do it”
@Ridiculous: “I’m not sure what’s more absurd — Russia’s bizarre law or the notion that the profoundly homophobic US government is somehow in a position to criticize it.”
I totally agree with your comments.
Tom in Lazybrook
@Dorothea from Germany:
Unfortunately, Russia takes succor from its’ best buddy in the West, Angela Merkel’s Germany, which continues to coddle Russia and tie its’ economy to Russia without questioning its denial of all freedoms of petition, protest, association, assembly, religion, press, and expression for minorities, including LGBT Russians.
While we, like Germany, do not have marriage equality, we do allow for the full participation of LGBT persons in all facets of electoral politics and public speech. There is no inconsistency with us.
Germany’s current government’s policy of selling its’ energy security to Putin is IMHO, very shortsighted. It appears to be ignoring gross abuses of human rights in Europe for its’ own financial gain.
I wish Germany would live up to the reputation it could have. Its a shame that Germany, like the useless European Court of Human Rights (aka the League of Nations II) uses its’ influence to help Russia ignore the most basic of human rights. Germany has influence. Germany should use it for something more than lining the pockets of its’ companies.
The United States has taken the lead on this issue by banning Russians directly engaged in the violation of basic human rights from entry into the USA. Since the elites in Russia are the only ones that matter, this is the best way to effect change in Russia. They don’t want to strut around Dubai with their oligarch loot.
I look forward to the day when Germany decides that looking the other way in the face of direct and extreme human rights abuses isn’t the best course of action. And when America-haters decide that beating up peaceful Gay protesters on the streets of Moscow is worthy of criticism by those (like Germany) that have influence. And that all civilized nations should criticize the denial of freedom of speech, assembly, association, expression, petition, protest, due process, and religion by Russia to its’ LGBT population.