What is Russia's 'Gay Propaganda' law? Why is it problematic?

In order to tighten the laws against the LGBTQIA+ community in the country, the lawmakers in the Russian Parliament On Monday (July 18) introduced a Bill to put a complete ban on LGBTQIA+ imagery.

It was a draft Bill which was introduced by a cross-party group of six communist and socially conservative deputies.

The Bill seeks to expand the 2013 ban on "promotion of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors, widely known as the gay propaganda bill. The draft Bill seeks to extend the restrictions on adults of the country too.

As per the proposed new changes, the bill would ban public discussion of LGBTQIA+ relationships in a positive or neutral light, any any LGBTQIA+ content in cinemas. The legislation would also allow the authorities to ban websites containing “prohibited information” about LGBTQIA+ relationships. 

The purpose of the bill: The Russian authorities say that they are defending morality in the face of what they argue are un-Russian liberal values prompted by the West, Al Jazeera reported.

“Public approval and recognition of such relationships are dangerous not only for children and young people…but for the whole society,” the explanatory note of the bill said.

Under the new law, any event, act or content that promotes homosexuality in Russia would incur a fine. The bill intends to extend the ban of LGBTQIA+ content to all adults now. Until now, the bill only covered minors.

How the bill can become a law? The bill must pass three rounds of voting in the lower house State Duma and one in the upper-house Federation Council and it should be signed by President Vladimir Putin, before it becomes a law. 

Putin has also alligned himself very closely with the Orthodox church which rejects same sex relationship. Moreover, the new constitution that was passed in Russia in 2020, which extended Presidential term of Putin, defines marriage exclusively as the union of a man and a woman.

How Russia justifies it: Russia’s parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on July 8 spoke of enforcing a wide ban on the dissemination of information on LGBTQIA+ relationships after Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe Human Rights after Ukraine invasion.

On July 8, she wrote on Telegram: “With the exit from the council of Europe, demands to legalise the same sex marriages in Russia have become a thing of the past. Attempts to impose alien values on our society have failed,” India Today reported.

A committee chairman in the lower house of Parliament had written on Telegram on July 11 that the 2013 law banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” among minors is insufficient.