Do Russia’s Olympic Uniforms Violate Their Own Gay Propaganda Laws?
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a group of volunteers near Sochi on Friday to wish them luck at the games and to participate in a question-answer period. One of the volunteers commented on Sochi’s rainbow-colored uniforms and asked if they might be breaching the ban on gay propaganda. Mr Putin replied that he had not designed the uniform. Is it possible that this was the first he heard of the design?
Putin’s meeting with the Olympic volunteers came a day after he told foreign ambassadors in Moscow that the event would be held “without any discrimination” against athletes and visitors.
“One can feel calm and at ease,” he told the volunteer. “Just leave kids alone, please.” That answer, with it’s intimation that gays might prey on children — hardly seems the kind of guarantee sought by human rights activists.
Russia has come under international pressure since its parliament passed a law last summer outlawing so called, “gay propaganda.” The legislation makes it illegal to tell children about gay equality. The law has been widely criticized by Western leaders who have called it archaic and discriminatory. The amendment to the child protection law prescribes fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18. These range from 4,000 rubles (119 dollars) for an individual to 1 million rubles (just under 30,000 dollars) for organizations.
Critics say the amendment’s loose wording, and its free interpretation by the authorities, effectively make any kind of public gay rights event in Russia impossible. Human rights activists say it proves Russia is unworthy of hosting the latest Winter Olympics.
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