Vladimir Putin gives Russian state honour to 'anti-gay' politician

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Vladimir Putin gives Russian state honour to 'anti-gay' politician

Alec Luhn in Moscow
Monday 14 September 2015 18.28 BST

Russian president Vladimir Putin has given a state honour to a lawmaker well known for his efforts to ban “gay propaganda” and prosecute western pop stars that support LGBT rights, only a day after Sir Elton John said he wanted to meet Putin to talk about his “ridiculous” attitude towards gay people.

Putin awarded Vitaly Milonov, a St Petersburg lawmaker, a medal of the order “For Service to the Fatherland” in the second degree, according to a decree published last Tuesday but only reported by the mainstream media on Sunday. Milonov was recognised for his “active lawmaking efforts and many years of honest work”.

That work has included relentless anti-gay campaigning. In 2012, Milonov authored a controversial St. Petersburg law banning the “propaganda of homosexuality and paedophilia among minors”, which helped inspire Russia’s 2013 national law against the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”. Activists have said the laws have increased homophobic violence, especially against teenagers.

The law, as well as Putin’s statement last year that gay visitors to Russia would be fine as long as they “leave the kids alone”, attracted criticism from the singer this weekend during a trip to Ukraine, which also has a track record of homophobic violence. In an interview with the BBC, he said he would like to meet Putin to discuss his “isolated and prejudiced” attitude toward gay people.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/14/vladimir-putin-gives-state-honour-to-anti-gay-politician

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Unsurpising.

What mystifies me is how those on the left, especially the far left, go out of their way to explain away shit like this! There is a real threat to GLBT people in Russia; it isn't a "Western" conspiracy.

[uhnope]

3. because they are as loony toon as the far right

because they are as ill-informed and/or willfully blind from watching RT and reading Counterpunch as right wingers are watching FOX and reading Breitbart.

[Old Union Guy]

2. Anti-gay politician gives Russian state honour to another anti-gay politician

Inquiring minds want to know -- Does he wax?



Of course he does.

[NuclearDem]

4. He doesn't wax. He just orders his hair's family shot.