A few months ago, I took issue with Tennessee’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which sought to prohibit school teachers from even mentioning homosexuality in the classroom.  Across the world in St. Petersberg, Russia, a more ominous law now looms that would criminalize “public actions aimed at propaganda of pederasty, lesbianism, bisexuality and transgenderism among minors.”  It has now passed the first of three legal tests, by a vote of 27 to 1.

Anti-gay rights measures often disguise themselves as measures seeking to “protect children” from hearing anything about the subject.  This promotes two misguided notions–that we are out to recruit children, and that being gay is something that can be learned, or caught like a disease.  Anytime you see a law, whether here or elsewhere in the world, that purports to protect “kids” from “people like them,” I implore you to think about what the drafters are hoping to convey, and to resist ever buying into their insidious assumptions.
More fundamentally, laws like that in St. Petersburg, and in Tennessee, aim at the heart of democratic discourse by seeking to silence one side of the debate.  For how can activists gather together to press for equality and justice, if the very fact of the “public action” could lead to criminal prosecution?  The presence of these silencing laws on the books serves to intimidate enough to cause self-censorshop, so as not to run afoul of them.

I ask you to share this article and remain vigilant about anti-gay measures everywhere, from Tallahassee to St. Petersburg.  If you’d like to make your voice heard, there is also a world-wide petition where you can send your own message to Russian lawmakers.

Thank you.

— GHT