27 Jan Russian national anti-gay law passes first reading
On Friday, the Russian State Duma adopted the first reading of a homophobic censorship bill which would impose federal sanctions for the promotion of “gay propaganda”.
On Tuesday, the bill was sent back to a preparatory stage, saying it needed further discussion, however it has now passed through its first reading.
Today 388 members voted for the bill, one voted against, and one member chose to abstain. 60 others did not vote.
The Committee on Family, Women and Children Matters has now been tasked with preparing the bill for its second reading.
The draft law, submitted in March 2012, details that the “promotion of homosexuality” among children could warrant fines of 4,000-5,000 rubles (£85-105) for individuals, 40,000-50,000 rubles (£850-1050) for officials, and 400-500,000 (£8,500-10,500) rubles for businesses.
Similar laws have already been passed regionally in ten different areas of Russia, but this bill would impose the law nationwide.
The bill currently stipulates that the police would be able to write up administrative reports for violations of the law, which would then be considered in court.
Proposals for amendments to the bill will be accepted until 25 May, at which point a working group will be formed in order to finalise a full version of it.