The Russian president signed a bill that completely prohibits the public expression of LGBTQ+ life in the country.
According to reports, the newly signed bill makes it illegal to spread anything about LGBTQ+ life in Russia. It prohibits "any action or the spreading of any information that is considered an attempt to promote homosexuality in public, online, or in films, books or advertising."
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Putin signed the law to propel Russians to stick to the country's traditional values. This push has also been used to justify the invasion of Ukraine and Russia's stance against the intergovernmental military alliance, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which seeks to limit Russia's military expansion in Europe.
In an October speech, Putin said that "[Western countries] spit on the natural right of billions of people, most of humanity, to freedom and justice, to determine their own future on their own. Now they have completely moved to a radical denial of moral norms, religion, and family."
Putin initially signed a law in June 2013 which called for the ban of "gay propaganda" in Russia. The law's text states that it was created to protect children from "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships." However, the new law expands to children and Russians of all ages.
The law was often used to silence LGBTQ+ activist organizations, events, websites, and media, as well as to harass teachers and break up “non-traditional” families. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and several civil rights activists around the globe have severely criticized the law.
According to critics, the LGBTQ+ community of Russia has already suffered increased harassment, violence, and hostility over the years. And with the new law's implementation, the lives of the LGBTQ+ population will be further endangered.
However, religious leaders against LGBTQ+ and right-wing political leaders from the U.S. support Putin's law and praise him for it. Republican legislators, supposed parents' rights groups, and right-wing supporters are striving to ban children from accessing any LGBTQ+ related content such as gender-affirming healthcare or drag shows with the misinterpreted claim that it "sexualizes" and "groom" minors.
In 2013, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) President Austin Ruse said that the anti-LGBTQ+ law in Russia was a "good thing" that the majority of the population in the United States would support. American anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical leader Franklin Graham expressed his support for the law in 2014.
Earlier in February, Donald Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon called Putin "anti-woke" and said that U.S. citizens should support Putin because of his long history with anti-LGBTQ+ politics.
Bannon discussed with his podcast guest, private military contractor Erik Prince, how Russian people "still know which bathroom to use" and that 'male' and 'female' are the only two genders. They complimented Russia for not raising Pride flags and praised that "they don't have boys swimming in girls' college swim meets," supposedly referencing the trans female swimming champion Lia Thomas.
Republican legislators have shown signs that they will stop providing funds and military support to Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion once they retake the U.S. House in January. According to the reports, Putin's soldier's attacked and tortured civilians and cruelly treated the LGBTQ+ community in Ukraine. The queer community in Ukraine now fears that if Russia overtakes the country, their anti-LGBTQ+ laws will allow brutal crackdowns and make their lives even harder.
