This mature and responsible act was made federally legal on June 29, 2013 in Russia. Russia amended "...Article 5 of the Federal Law "On Protection of children from information harmful to their health and development" and some legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to protect children from information that promotes the denial of traditional family values."[i] What does this mean? When Canada was rearing up for the olympics journalist Ian Munroe said on July 26, 2013 in a CBC article that Canada was made aware of a federal law prohibiting "...public actions that are described as promoting homosexuality and non-traditional sexual relationships,"[ii]. So public actions that promote homosexuality and "non-traditional sexual relationships" is illegal in Russia. Why? As a means of protecting children from information that could be "...harmful to their health and development..." and because it is a front on "...traditional family values." Does this mean that it is illegal to be gay in Russia? Or how about holding to a personal conviction that is in favour of 'gay rights'? Or how about actively engaging in homosexual sex? No. Journalist, Shaun Walker records Russian President Vladimir Putin in saying that this year at the 2014 Olympics "...gay people will be not be subjected to harassment ... as long as they stay away from children." What did Putin mean by that? Is he insinuating that gay people are inherently bad for children to be around? Again no, Walker clarifies Putin's position:
"We do not have a ban on non-traditional sexual relationships, ... [we] have a ban on the propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia. I want to underline this. Propaganda among children. These are absolutely different things – a ban on something or a ban on the propaganda of that thing."[iii]So Russia's alleged 'anti-gay laws' are really 'anti-promotion of homosexuality to children' laws; as Putin states there is a difference: one is a position on a subject matter, while another is an action. And as he clarifies the ban regards the propagation of homosexuality to minors. This is Putin's response to an inquiry by people asking, given the ban on publication of homosexual literature, why were "...their uniforms ... rainbow coloured."[iv] Moreover Putin clarifies that Russia is "...not forbidding anything and nobody is being grabbed off the street, and there is no punishment for such kinds of relations[; you] can feel relaxed and calm [in Russia], but leave children alone please."[v] In sum keep homosexual affairs and discussion at the grownup table.
As a result Walker reports that since "...the law on "homosexual propaganda" came into force ... Russia's gay community has reported an upturn in homophobic violence and threats. Gay rights rallies are also banned in Russia, and there has been much discussion over whether athletes or spectators displaying rainbow flags or gay rights placards could be arrested during the Olympics."[vi]
Violence towards anyone - gay or straight - is a no-brainer a no good situation; and one could debate the morality of banning political rallies and the arresting people for presenting pro-gay colours on their person. However on the other hand, today, wearing a rainbow or rainbow colours on your person says to someone that you are a supporter of 'gay rights', even if your are not; in sum a bright colourful rainbow is no longer just a rainbow its a symbol of a position on gay rights. If someone gets arrested for waring rainbow colours, it may be unfair as they may simply just like rainbows; but they had it coming because Russia's position on propagating same-sex unions is known, just as much as the rainbow is a known symbol of homosexuality.
So now, the Olympics is going well; have there been people being arrested for carrying billboards and or being human billboards for gay rights? Well the title of a February 17, 2014 article on Mail Online website suggests so: Italy's first transgender MP arrested in Sochi for carrying 'Gay is OK' rainbow flag. However just as looks can be deceiving so can titles of articles. Journalist Hanna Roberts writes:
A transgender former MP from Italy has been arrested at the Winter Olympics in Sochi for carrying a banner that said ‘It’s OK to be gay.’Vladimir Luxuria, the first transgender MP of any European country, was taken into police custody shortly after posing for a photograph at the Olympic site holding a rainbow umbrella and fan.[vii]However the real truth becomes much clearer when Vladimir Luxuria speaks for himself.
I had this rainbow with Russian writing, saying in Russian 'It is okay to be gay', that's it. And they wanted to keep it and I said "no, I want it back." And when I tried to get it back, they put me to the police station.[viii]So why was Luxuria arrested? Was it because he was transgendered? No. Its because he publicly promoted homosexuality; and even that wasn't the case - when his rainbow was confiscated he advanced the police officers to retrieve it and that is when he said that he was brought to the police station. In sum he was given the chance to walk away, but he insisted on propagating homosexuality. So if Luxuria's case is typical it seems safe to say that nobody should have been arrested for having on their person a rainbow or waring rainbow-coloured clothing, just being overly political about what the colours represent.
Why protest against gay propaganda being exposed to children?
My first question is: "Why do we want to promote homosexuality to children?" An ABC article by Tim Leslie entitled 8 things to understand about gay rights in Russia and the Sochi Winter Olympics reports that this law "...has worried many gay couples with children, who could be breaking the law by telling their children[ix] that their relationships are equal to those of their straight friends and neighbours."[x] There is the clear assumption that homosexual relations are equal? Russia seems to believe, hence the ban, that promotion of same-sex unions to children will harm them; so how exactly are gay unions equal to heterosexual unions? Either Russia is right and homosexual unions are corrupt and thus will corrupt all who participate in it and our precious children or the gays are right and such unions are merely different. If Russia is right the ban is moral, if Russia is wrong the ban is immoral. So again how are homosexual relations equal to heterosexual unions? Are they equal in health safety? No. How about natural compatibility? No. How about diverse parenting needs for children? No. So why is the LGBT community offended at the prospect that their union is unhealthy and not good for children to be taught that it is good? ANSWER: Because they like it and want it to be praised as normal; being allowed to behave in such ill-advised fashion is not enough - they want the action to be praised and promoted, not merely permitted. So how can an LGBT person remain safe for the rest of the Sochi Olympics and every day in Russia? With a collaboration of cooperation: Allow Russian police to be on guard for truly anti-gay extremists - persons who take harassment and even violence as an option to deal homosexuality, while the gay person leaves their homosexuality in the privacy of their home.
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[i] http://pravo.gov.ru/proxy/ips/?docbody=&vkart=card&nd=102337335&rdk=&intelsearch=135-%D4%C7 - accessed February 20, 2014 (NOTE: This text is translated from Russian into English using http://translate.google.com - accessed February 20, 2014
[ii] http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/should-olympians-fear-russia-s-anti-gay-laws-1.1359358 - accessed February 20, 2014
[iii] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/vladimir-putin-gay-winter-olympics-children - accessed February 20, 2014
[iv] Ibid., - accessed February 21, 2014
[v] Ibid., - accessed February 21, 2014
[vi] Ibid., - accessed February 21, 2014
[vii] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2561229/Italian-transgender-former-MP-arrested-Sochi-carrying-Gay-OK-rainbow-flag.html accessed February 21, 2014
[viii] Ibid., - accessed February 21, 2014
[ix] ("Single persons living within Russia, regardless of their sexual orientation, can adopt children.") - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia - accessed February 23, 2014
[x] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-06/russia-gay-rights-sochi-explained/5237926 - accessed February 21, 2014
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