The local parliament in Russia's second city of Saint Petersburg on
Wednesday passed a controversial law banning "homosexual propaganda", in
defiance of protests by gay rights groups.
The law -- passed in a
third and final reading with 29 lawmakers in favour and five against --
makes it illegal to promote homosexuality and paedophilia among minors
aged under 18.
But rights groups have said the law is dangerous as
it will be left up to the whim of the authorities to decide what
constitutes propaganda, meaning gays could risk fines for demonstrations
or showing intimate behaviour in public.
"This law is shameful
for the Saint Petersburg parliament," said Olga Galkina of the Yabloko
(Apple) liberal party, whose deputies with one exception voted against
the law.
"How will citizens protect their rights? The authorities
will hardly be competent to determine whether this is propaganda or
lifestyle," she told AFP.
The US State Department had said earlier
this month it was deeply concerned the bill would restrict freedom of
assembly for gays. The Russian foreign ministry then accused Washington
of interfering in the Russian legal process.
Gay campaigners said
that while the bill is nominally aimed at protecting minors, its vague
wording could be effectively used to suppress any rights protests that
could be seen by children.
They have also been angered by the fact the law appears to equate homosexuality with paedophilia.
But
the law was strongly supported by Saint Petersburg's governor Georgy
Poltavchenko and its authors have also vowed to bring a similar
initiative to the federal State Duma parliament for adoption nationwide.
"I
have not heard a single word in this law that is not in line with
Russian laws," one of the initiators of the new law, Vitaly Milonov of
the ruling United Russia party, told AFP.
"Homophobia is a term
thought up by people of untraditional sexual orientation about people
who do not understand the way in which they live," he added.
Offenders
in the city -- Russia's number one destination for foreign tourists --
risk being punished with a fine of up to 50,000 rubles ($1,700) if found
guilty of promoting homosexuality.
The fines for promoting
paedophilia -- whose distinction from homosexuality is not made
explicitly clear in the law -- rise to one million rubles ($35,000).
According
to Russian state media, among the first to be penalised could be German
heavy rock group Rammstein over a recent concert in the city which
legislators believe had scenes of "frank, crude pornography".
The
law forbids "making propaganda through public acts for homosexuality,
lesbianism, bisexuality and trans-genderism among minors."
According
to the law, this would mean spreading information "harmful to the
health and moral and spiritual development of minors."
The bill
was also strongly backed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak
and former Saint Petersburg governor Valentina Matviyenko who is now
speaker of Russia's upper house, the third most powerful position in the
country.
It now just needs to be signed by Poltavchenko to come into law.
Saint
Petersburg gay rights group Vykhod (Exit), which had campaigned against
the law, called its passage "shameful for parliament, shameful for the
deputies."
"We know that most of them understand perfectly well
the absurdity and unfairness of this law," said Igor Kochetkov, a member
of its management committee.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in
Russia in 1993 but officials often make homophobic statements, most
notoriously ex-Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, who consistently refused to
sanction gay pride events, which he called "satanic."
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