Brett Edward Stout has written a highly informative piece over at The Advocate about the draconian anti-gay law passed in St. Petersburg that bans any public mention of gay issues or "public displays of homosexual conduct."
In the article Stout traces the roots of Russia's anti-gay polices to those of America's religious right, particularly American evangelist Scott Lively--also known as the backer of the notorious Uganda "Kill The Gays" bill--who aligned himself with the Russian Orthodox church and gave them strategies to guard themselves from "gay propaganda".
"In his letter, Lively elaborated that, “The purpose of my visit was to bring a warning about the homosexual political movement which has done much damage to my country and which has now taken root in Russia. This is a very fast-growing social cancer that will destroy the family foundations of your society if you do not take immediate, effective action to stop it.”
Of the several steps he lays out, the third is this: “Criminalize the public advocacy of homosexuality. My philosophy is to leave homosexuals alone if they keep their lifestyle private, and not to force them into therapy if they don’t want it. However, homosexuality is destructive to individuals and to society and it should never [be] publicly promoted. The easiest way to discourage 'gay pride' parades and other homosexual advocacy is to make such activity illegal in the interest of public health and morality.” Play by play, the Russian Orthodoxy has taken Lively’s blueprint and is acting swiftly on his urging “to protect their country from the gay movement.”
Read the rest HERE.
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