Russia: Leading the Way in the Treatment of Homosexuals

..at least that's a viewpoint endorsed by whoever operates the Twitter account at the "Campaign For Marriage".

 

My interest was piqued when I came across this tweet:

Oh, I thought, what could this be? Well, it turned out to be this:

Well, the pictures were pretty, if you like that sort of thing... In case the type is too small for you, it says:

"I have already said that the sex education will follow to include Homosexual sex. I cannot believe I am saying this but we need to follow the example of Russia and ban homosexual propaganda." [emphasis added]

But what of Russia, it is a member of the G8 and a modern democracy nowadays, isn't it...

 

...well, that's not quite the take on it in Amnesty International's latest report. Here's what it has to say on the subject of discrimination in Russia:

"Discrimination on grounds such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion or political affiliation remained widespread. Discriminatory legislation targeting LGBTI individuals was introduced in several regions and proposed at the federal level. A law banning “propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderness among minors” came into force in St Petersburg in April. Similar laws were also introduced in Bashkiria, Chukotka, Krasnodar, Magadan, Novosibirsk and Samara regions, and tabled before the State Duma. A number of public LGBTI events were forbidden and participants dispersed by police.

 

"Across Russia, LGBTI individuals and members of various minority groups continued to face attacks. Such attacks were not effectively investigated by the authorities, and the perpetrators often unidentified.

• On 4 August, four men forcibly entered an LGBTI club in Tyumen and physically and verbally assaulted several customers. Police detained the attackers. When the victims came to the police station to file complaints, they were left in the same room with the perpetrators, who continued to threaten them and were later released without charge."

And it's not as if this has been an isolated occurance which could be put down to a rogue operative of the Twitter account. I didn't have to go too far on the Campaign for Marriage feed to find these gems:

Now, I don't know who or what is behind the Campaign for Marriage - it says it is "inspired" by the Coalition for Marriage and uses a logo which is similar although not the same. The first example, however, is a clip from this Facebook page in the name of the Coalition for Marriage.

 

The Coalition for Marriage is "an umbrella group of individuals and organisations in the UK that support traditional marriage and oppose any plans to redefine it." - including many Church of England Bishops, Clergy from other denominations and religions, Peers and MPs. As to the supporting organisations, this is less obvious but it includes (or have links with) CARE, the Evangelical Alliance and the Christian Medical Fellowship.

 

Will they, or the Coalition itself, codemn the sentiments evident on the Campaign for Marriage Twitter feed?

 

Andrew