Russian President Putin Signs Law Outlawing Gay Propaganda

Photo:  Stan Shebs

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, signed into law on Sunday a bill prohibiting the "propagation" of information relating to homosexuality in the country, invoking heavy fines on those who seek to spread information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to minors.

The bill, which was approved by Russia's parliament last month, fines an individual propagating homosexuality with 5,000 rubles ($156), while a group or company spreading information about the LGBT community is fined up to 1 million rubles ($30,000).

The law focuses specifically on the use of media and the Internet to propagate information and also bans the holding of pro-gay rallies anywhere in the country.

According to Bloomberg, the official publication of the bill, which was released Sunday, focuses specifically on the "obtrusive spreading of information about non-traditional sexual relationships that may arouse interest in such relationships." Read more