ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – The bill banning so-called “propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia to minors” has passed in the 3rd reading in the St. Petersburg city parliament. Twenty-nine deputies voted in favor of the bill, five voted against the bill and one abstained. Fifteen deputies did not vote (either abstained, or were absent).
Member of the board of Coming Out and chairman of Russian LGBT Network, Igor Kochetkov said, “I am ashamed of St. Petersburg, ashamed of the deputies. We know that the majority of them realize very well the absurdity and unjust nature of this law. But those who voted in favor did not vote according to their conscience, but according to their “duty”, because this is what their superiors told them to do. They are not able to vote according to their conscience as most of them were given their deputy seats not by the electorate’s will, but by those in power. Everybody knows how the elections for the Legislative Assembly went on December 4.”
City governor, Georgiy Poltavchenko, now has 14 days to sign the bill into effect, or send it back to be reworked.
International protest against the new law has continued with a video highlighting the law’s effect. AllOut.org has been urging people to sign a petition to Gov. Poltavchenko pledging people not to travel to St. Petersburg. So far more than 79,000 people have signed the petition.
Set to the finale of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake,” the powerful video shows a young woman with a notebook demonstrating how the law would affect the city’s community and visitors. The video can be viewed at allout.org/stpetersburg-dont-go.
If the law goes into effect, it will rule out nearly all public events carried out by or on behalf of LGBT people and organizations and their reaching out to the media and the Internet, severely curtailing the publication of anything relating to LGBT rights or providing assistance or advice.
