Russian gays badly persecuted

Far out. Here we are fighting for marriage equality, but I can't imagine facing this sort of thing that Russia is doing:

“We have every right to maintain the purity of the society and to protect our children from all sorts of sinful manifestations. Both the Church and the majority of the community agree that homosexuality is far from being a normal thing,” says senior Church official Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin.

In February this year, St. Petersburg's city legislature approved a ban on spreading homosexual and pedophilia propaganda among minors. The law – which was initiated and promoted by United Russia Deputy Vitaly Milonov – provides for fines of up to about US$16,000 for individuals and $160,000 for organizations committing such offences. more

I wonder what it might be like to be an HIV+ gay in Russia today? Pretty fuckin bad by the looks.

WTF is "gay propaganda?" Also they're still lumping gays into paedophilia.The whole thing is really fucked up. There's no doubt in my mind that recent violence against gays over in Russia would in some part be due to the leaders of the community asserting that gay people are evil and sinful.

Some 20 alleged nationalists launched an assault on a Moscow gay bar amidst Coming Out Day celebrations, kicking women in their heads, using bottles as weapons and making threats with guns. The attack left many injured, with three taken to hospital. more

Simon stated once that wherever there is humanity, there are gays. It doesn't matter how much the authorities or society try to stop it, all it does is send them into the closet. And the closet can cause all kinds of mental conflict and illness.

How about entering the 21st century eh Russia? Or even the last half of last century might be a start?