Russian Senator proposes ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ for LGBT citizens
Konstantin Dobrynin, a member of Russia’s upper house of parliament, proposed to codify a “don’t ask, don’t tell” principle for LGBT citizens in Russian law.
According to Dobrynin, the recent US Supreme Court ruling recognizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states points to a trend in which sooner or later LGBT citizens worldwide will have the same rights as heterosexuals. He said that Russia should not turn away from this reality, but should work towards finding a balance in the law between the preferences of its conservatives and the rest of the population.
Dobrynin noted that it is necessary to reduce aggression towards the LGBT community today in Russia. He said that only time will tell if Western states are right to legalize same-sex marriage, and that the future will show which path Russia chooses.
“It is necessary to get rid of quasi-politicians who are exploiting the fight against gay people and engaging in political and legislative spamming on the political arena. The faster we get rid of them, the better. It is these people, and not gay people, who are presenting an obvious threat to Russia’s security.”
From 1994 to 2011, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” principle was the official policy in the US military towards LGBT service members. The policy prohibited discrimination against closeted homosexual or bisexual applicants or service members, but allowed the barring of openly gay, lesbian or bisexual applicants from military service. In 2010, US President Barack Obama opened up military service to openly gay, lesbian or bisexual applicants.
On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled to recognize same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
Orthodox Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin, told news agency Interfax in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the US is trying to impose its “unnatural and posthuman view of marriage” on other countries. According to Chaplin, same-sex marriage is “ungodly and sinful.”
A St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly member, the conservative Vitaly Milonov, said that he plans to file a complaint against Facebook with Roskomnadzor (a state-run oversight agency for the media) for Facebook’s new rainbow filter function for its users’ profile pictures in celebration of gay pride.