Russia’s Parliament Approves Expanded Law Against ‘LGBTQIA+ Propaganda’

Members of the Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Parliament, unanimously approved this Thursday (27) a bill that toughens the repression against the LGBTQIA+ community.

The text expands the scope of legislation in force since 2013 that bans what Moscow considers “gay propaganda” aimed at children. With the project, criminalization advances for all content of the type that is also aimed at adults.

The content was presented in Parliament in July, and deputies argue that it is a defense of morality against what they consider “anti-Russian” values ​​promoted by Western countries.

The update in the law still needs to go through two more votes and then it will be sent to the upper house, a kind of Russian Senate. It is virtually certain that the material will be approved and sent to President Vladimir Putin’s seal — the two houses of the bicameral Parliament are made up of supermajorities from United Russia, Putin’s party.

According to the updated text, citizens can be fined up to 400,000 rubles (about R$35,000) for promoting “LGBT propaganda” in public, in the media or in materials such as films, books and advertising. Companies would be subject to a higher fine of 5 million rubles. Foreigners accused of the practice would be prosecuted in court and deported from Russia.

Deputy Alexander Khinshtein, from United Russia and one of the main formulators of the bill, denied during a hearing last week that the text constitutes censorship. “What we’re banning is LGBT propaganda, not references in general,” he said.

Khinshtein also claimed that a hybrid war — a kind of movement that goes beyond military attacks and encompasses, for example, propaganda, disinformation and cyberattacks against a state — uses elements of the LGBTQIA+ agenda and is being used against Russia. “We must protect our values, our society and our children.”

The Russian LGBT Network, an NGO that offers legal assistance to members of the community legally harassed in Russian territory, says it considers the expansion of the restrictive law an attempt to humiliate and discriminate against gay, lesbian and transgender people.

“The lawmakers suggest that adults cannot choose what to say, watch or read; in fact, they want to abolish everything that concerns the LGBT community,” the organization, considered a foreign agent by Moscow since last November, told Reuters. therefore, with difficulty operating in the country.

A few weeks ago, the TikTok app was fined 3 million rubles for promoting what were deemed LGBT-themed videos. The Russian media regulator has also urged publishers to withdraw from the market all books that contain so-called “gay propaganda”.