Tag Archives: anti-gay laws

Five Time Olympic Medalist Bode Miller Slams Russia Over Anti-Gay Laws

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Bode Miller naked

Bromantic five-time Olympic skiing medalist Bode Miller in an interview with the Associated Press yesterday didn’t hold back any punches when asked about Russia’s anti-gay laws.

“‘I think it’s absolutely embarrassing that there’s countries and there’s people who are that intolerant and that ignorant,” he said Monday, one of the few athletes willing to take a stand on the subject at the U.S. Olympic media summit featuring Sochi hopefuls. ‘But it’s not the first time,” Miller said. “We’ve been dealing with human-rights issues probably since there were humans.” At 35 and with five Olympic medals to his credit, Miller is trying for his fifth Winter Games. He has, over the years, built a reputation as an unconventional firebrand, unafraid to state his opinion on sports, skiing or society in general. He said the Russian law puts athletes in an awkward position. “I think it’s unfortunate when they get stuffed together because there are politics in sports and athletics,” Miller said. “They always are intertwined, even though people try to keep them separate or try to act like they’re separate. Asking an athlete to go somewhere and compete and be a representative of a philosophy and … then tell them they can’t express their views or they can’t say what they believe, I think is pretty hypocritical or unfair.”

Miller like many athletes have stepped forward to speak out against the Russian law, but stop short of calling for an Olympic boycott or action which “I think is pretty hypocritical or unfair.”

Over 10,000 March Against Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws In Copenhagen, America Take Note – Video

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Copenhagen Russian protest

The Copenhagen Post reports on a massive march which broght together both LGBT and straight Copenhagen citizens to march against Putin and Russia’s anti-gay laws  yesterday:

Ten thousand people got an early start on Copenhagen Pride festivities on Tuesday with a demonstration against Russia’s recently passed anti-gay law. Protestors taking part in the ‘To Russia with Love’ demonstration gathered in front of Christiansborg, the house of parliament, and then proceeded to march to the Russian Embassy, where they submitted signatures of people opposing the law. The demonstration’s organisers had hoped 2,000 people would participate, but media reports put the turnout at upwards of 10,000 demonstrators.

God bless the citizens of Copenhagen for standing up and speaking out.

But this question needs to be asked.  Are any LGBT American’s taking note?  because this is what a protest really looks like and what we should be doing not only for Russia, but for our own equal rights here in America.

City Of Los Angeles Calls On President Obama To Grant Asylum To Persecuted Russian LGBT’s

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Los Angeles

Tuesday afternoon the city council of Los Angeles unanimously approved a resolution calling on President Obama and the federal government to grant asylum to the Russian LGBT citizens who are being  persecuted on the basis of  Russia’s anti-gay laws.

The document calls on U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to “take action to stop the harassment, abuse and murder of homosexuals around the world” and calls upon the U.S. government to make tough international public statements condemning the persecution of sexual minorities, and to use all available means to pressure upon the Russian government.

Member of the City Council of Los Angeles and Tom LyaBonzh, which deals with the supervision of the participation of the city in the twin city program,  joined the author of the resolution Mitch O’Ferrell  and board member Mike Bonin. at a rainbow rainbow flag-raising ceremony after the resolutions signing to send a message of support and solidarity from the residents of Los Angeles to LGBT individuals who face persecution in Russia.

Los Angeles which is the  sister city of Saint Petersburg, the first Russian regions where the anti-gay laws were passed has not broken ties with the “Sister Cities” program.

NHL Stars Henrik Zetterberg and Victor Hedman Blast Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws

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Hot Hockey Players

Two (very humpy) National Hockey League stars Henrik Zetterberg (above left) of the Detroit Red Wings and Victor Hedman (above right) of the Tampa Bay Lightning have gone on record blasting Russia’s anti-gay law and its impact on the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics, Detroit Free Press reports:

The Detroit Free Press reports:

Zetterberg, the Detroit Red Wings captain who will likely represent Sweden in the Olympics, reportedly told Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that the law is ‘awful, just awful’

“I think that everyone should be able to be themselves,” Zetterberg said. “It’s unbelievable that it can be this way in this time, especially in a big country like Russia.”

Fellow Swedish player Victor Hedman, who plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning, also had strong things to say about the law: “That’s completely wrong, we’re all humans. No one should have a say in what way you’re sexually oriented.”

Thank you guys for being real men and speaking up!

This is just one more reason why hockey players are HOT.

Russia’s Sports Minister Says ‘Calm down’ About The Olympics and Anti-Gay Laws and “Obey them”

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Russian Sport minister

Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told reporters on Thursday at a press conference in Moscow for the world athletics championships that gay athletes and organizations should “be relaxed” about the country’s anti-gay laws, and respect them.

Mutko earlier this month warned that athletes and spectators would be subject to the anti-gay laws.

Reuters reports:

When asked how it would affect athletes competing in the championships beginning on Saturday and next year’s winter Olympics in Sochi, Mutko was dismissive of any concerns.

“I want to ask you to calm down as in addition to this law we have a constitution that guarantees all citizens a private life,” he told a packed news conference in a Moscow hotel. “It is not intended to deprive people of any religion, race or sexual orientation but to ban the promotion of non-traditional relations among the young generation. All the athletes and organisations should be relaxed, their rights will be protected…but of course you have to respect the laws of the country you are in.”

Yes, everyone you should calm down.   Just as the world remained calm and unconcerned about Germany’s Nuremberg Race Laws during the 1930’s. Just as Germany had to protect the children and the German race from the scourge of Judaism, Gypsies and homosexuals.

Even more appalling are the comments of Lamine Diack, the president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and a board member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who said:  “I don’t feel there is a problem whatsoever. There is a law that exists, it has to be respected, we are here for the world championships and have no problem whatsoever and I’m not worried at all.”

That human rights can be dismissed so easily in the name of “sport” is disgusting.

The fact that we are even fighting for a boycott instead of it automatically happening is sad statement on humanity indeed.

Why It’s Important To Know If Your Cruise Destination Is LGBT Friendly

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If you’re already sick of winter and looking for nice warm destinations to sail to melt your worries away, then there are some things that you should be mindful of, especially if you’re LGBT.  Sadly enough, there are still anti-gay vacation spots filled with bigotry that come with steep penalties that you should keep in mind before buying that hot swimsuit. Here is some of the penalties given by some of the more popular vacation spots:

Barbados: (Life sentence)

Antigua and Barbuda: (15 years in prison)

Dominica: (10 years in prison)

Grenada: (Male: illegal and 10 year prison sentence. Female: legal)

Jamaica: (Male: illegal and 10 year sentence to hard labor. Female: legal)

Saint Kitts and Nevis: (Male: illegal and 10 year sentence. Female: legal)

Saint Lucia: (Male: illegal and a fine and/or 10 year sentence. Female: legal)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: (Fine and/or 10 years)

Trinidad and Tobago: (25 years prison sentence)

Sad isn’t it. Especially the hypocrisy and misogyny in some of these places where it’s okay for a a woman to commit a homosexual act but the men receive a steep penalty. And it has these sexist undertones that women are only sexual beings deeply disturbs me. 

Now of course there are still tropical cruise destinations that have gay friendly environment allowing you to fully enjoy your vacation. A large travel company, Frommers.com, points out that many Islands in the Caribbean like Puerto Rico and Coasta Rico are welcoming towards LGBT:

“The most gay-friendly Caribbean islands are the U.S. possessions, most notably San Juan, which is hailed as the ’Gay Capital of the Caribbean’ and offers gay guesthouses, nightclubs, bars and dance clubs”

Now Director of Oasis Hotels, Teri Minor, one of the most popular Cancun resorts wants to reassure potential customers of the accepting and welcoming environment:

“To make this the perfect setting, we created a steering committee from industry leaders from various airlines, wholesale operators and travel agencies, It was determined by these well-seasoned travelers that Oasis Sens was already perfect for the LGBT community.”

“All the staff at Oasis Sens have volunteered and want to support this concept and the lifestyle, They have undergone training by Carma Productions and are ready to greet all guests with equality and special attention.”

So always make sure to do the research of any destination you go to for yourself, regardless of their reputation. Find out the rate of reported hate crimes and any barbaric/archaic anti-gay laws they may still have. Make sure to always have valid and up to date self identification. And let people know where you’re going as well as how long you will be there and what they should do if in the event something went wrong and you need help. And know who you need to contact and who the embassy officials are if you need assistance.

Will Russia Have A “Ban Everything Gay” Law..Again?

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Will Russia legally ban all things gay? It seems like that’s the direction the European country is headed in once again. It shouldn’t be a surprise unfortunately to many; the country already placed a 100 year ban on any type of gay pride festivities early this year. And with the recent headlines condemnation from the Russian government of pro-gray advocates Pussy Riot and Madonna that have caused a international media firestorm.

Now it seems the Russian government wants to ban anything they see as “gay propaganda”. Here’s a recent radio show which details why the proposed law is called “gay propaganda” so that it will serve as an umbrella clause allowing the government to persecute law breakers for any infraction:

Gavrikov: That’s precisely the problem. For me, the term “propaganda” has exactly the same connotation as the term “anti-Soviet propaganda.” Everything that city authorities think will contradict the general stance of the [ruling United Russia] party — since almost all city officials are members of United Russia — will give them an opportunity to implement this law.This term is being used precisely because it’s vague, in order to bar public activities by certain groups of people. Any public activity that carries the word “gay,” or “lesbians,” or “bisexual” or “transgender” can be interpreted as propaganda — be it an awareness campaign, an opinion poll, or an article posted on our website.

Is the law as extreme as Uganda, the African nation that is in the process of enacting a law permitting officials to put homosexuals to death? Let’s take a look again at the sadistic law in Uganda:

‘Aggravated homosexuality’ is defined as gay acts committed by parents or authority figures, HIV-positive people, pedophiles and repeat offenders. If convicted, they will face the death penalty.

The ‘offense of homosexuality’ includes same-sex sexual acts or being in a gay relationship, and will be prosecuted by life imprisonment.

So no Russia’s proposal isn’t as severe but it is still archaic and very barbaric. But it still isn’t clear how high the penalty will be for those Russian citizens accused of “gay propaganda”. It seems that it will be a variation of the new law proposed in the African nation of Nigeria. What differs is that the proposed law in Russia seems to be based on religious ideology where as Nigeria wants these heinous laws to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS cases:

The spread of HIV in the country is fueled by the growing stigma and discrimination of people, and a legislation as this will only make it more difficult to provide services to our highly productive youth burdened by the epidemic, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity. We humbly implore our law makers to really consider the long term consequences of this bill on the social security of our youth.”

Three laws in three different countries. All disgusting government law proposals for inane and unjustified reasons.

 

Two Men In Cameroon Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Being “Percieved” As Gay

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Two men in Cameroon were sentenced to five years jail-time for the suspicion of being gay and International gay rights groups are in an uproar.

Coming just one week after Roger Jean-Claude Mbédé was sentenced to 3 years prison for sending a text message to another man which said: ‘I’m very much in love with you’.  Franky Djome and Jonas Singa Kumie received a five-year prison sentence for being ‘perceived’ as gay , the highest possible sentence by a Cameroon judge because their vocabulary was “feminine”, because they drank a beverage that’s perceived to be something gay men drink, and because the clothes they were wearing were not masculine enough’,

Andre Banks, Executive Director of AllOut.org said: ‘“The cases of Franky, Jonas, and Roger are not isolated incidents — these are systematic violations of the most basic human rights.

Homosexual activity both male and female is illegal in Cameroon, under Section 347, with a penalty of five years in prison and a fine.

In 2011 alone, over a dozen men were arrested under Section 347, solely on the suspicion of being gay.

Vote Against Gay Freedom In Russia Postponed

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The vote that could make even talking about homosexuality in public illegal has been postponed for a week. Perhaps a small success?

So far over 180,000 signatures have helped make this petition a voice to be listened to, but it certainly doesn’t mean that the bill won’t pass. If you haven’t done so already, please add your signature.

Here is a video update from Russia:

Russia Drafts Law To Demonize LGBT Citizens By Grouping Them With Pedophiles

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 As if the country of Russia did not already abuse its LGBT community enough…..

In the name of the “public interest”, members of the and the St. Petersburg, Russia Legislative Assembly have decided to ignore the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention for Human Rights, Council of Europe Recommendations and other decrees by international organizations by introducing a draft law prohibiting the passing of  “propaganda (information, etc) of sodomy (homosexuality), lesbianism, bisexualism, transgenderism, and pedophilia to minors’  

By lumping the LGBT Community into one law with sexual crimes against minors by pedophiles, members of the Russian Legislative Assembly are attempting no to demonize LGBT community more within the realm of Russia’s public opinion and also severely limit human rights in St. Petersburg.

The  adoption of this law would impose significant limitations on the activities LGBT organizations, which are already severely limited by making it illegal for minors to seek information and guidance on matters of sexual orientation and will make any public campaigns aimed at reducing homophobia and hate crime’s  impossible.

Russia currently leads the world in the number of teenage suicides.  Ignoring the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity will only worsen the current problem.

Source:  The Canadian