And yes – the ban lasts till 2112 … as in 100 years from now. I always find this anti-gay behavior comical; why are so many people so freaked out about “the gay”. It isn’t contagious and you have nothing to worry about. So – Moscow decides that they need an entire 100 year ban on gay pride parades…priceless. More gay pride pictures from Russia HERE.
Human Rights First has the story HERE:
Human Rights First condemns the Tverskoy District Court ruling to uphold the decision of Moscow authorities to ban gay pride parades in the city until May 2112. The Moscow City Hall has banned such events for seven consecutive years, citing numerous letters from public officials, religious organizations, and private citizens urging the authorities to prohibit a demonstration. The European Court of Human Rights pronounced these bans illegal in October 2010. (photo credit: Reuters)
“This unprecedented ban is not entirely surprising, but Russia’s society is evolving at a pace not even Vladimir Putin can control,” said Human Rights First’s Innokenty Grekov. “More people are becoming accepting and tolerant to LGBTI persons. The 100-year ban, along with the discriminatory laws prohibiting “promotion of homosexuality” that are spreading through local legislatures, show that the Russian government remains behind the times.”
Russia today adds more HERE:
At the same time, Alekseyev admitted that he and his comrades never hoped to actually receive a license for the parade but simply needed a formal excuse to turn to the European Human Rights Court.
“They refuse our requests every time, but in Strasbourg they recognize these rulings as unlawful. But time does not stand still, we ask for a new event and again they refuse us,” the activist noted.
On one occasion, though, Muscovite gay rights activists found a way to the streets – after they quibbled the authorities to get access. About 70 people marched on one of Moscow’s quays under rainbow banners in early June and managed to hold a two-hour rally calling for freedom of assembly and organization for sexual minorities.
The rally was not officially announced as a gay pride event, as the organizers initially applied for a permit to hold “a rally against all types of discrimination.”
This year the Russian government started an active campaign against so-called gay propaganda – a special law was approved and signed into force in St. Petersburg, prompting a group of parliamentarians to suggest approving a similar law on a nationwide scale. Two people have already been brought to justice in St. Petersburg for displaying a poster reading “Being gay is normal” in the street near a kindergarten.
Another Russian court decision bans a homosexual rights group from participating in the 2014 Olympics and calls homosexuality “extremist” behavior – more HERE:
Today, Human Rights First condemns a recent Russian court decision which discriminates against LGBTI persons. The organization is concerned that the court construed homosexuality as “extremist” behavior and urges the Russian government to amend vague anti-extremism laws to prevent their misuse.
Alarmingly, last year, the same court in Krasnodar banned several Jehovah’s Witnesses and Falun Gong publications as “extremist.” The verdicts of those and similar cases that misuse of Russia’s anti-extremism legislation are likely to be reversed at the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR). The organizers of Sochi Pride House is expected to appeal to the ECHR; their leader Nikolai Alexeyev won a case in 2010, after the court declared bans on Moscow Pride to violate European human rights guarantees.
