Russia Confirms Anti-Gay Law Will Be Enforced at Olympics
Source: RIA Novosti
Russia's Interior Ministry, which controls the police force, confirmed Monday that the country's controversial anti-gay law will be enforced during the Sochi 2014 Olympics.
Confusion has reigned over how the country intends to act during the February 7-23 Winter Games after President Vladimir Putin signed legislation in June that bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors.
The International Olympic Committee first claimed it had received assurances from top government officials that Sochi 2014 athletes and guests will not be affected, prompting Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko to insist no one is exempt from the law.
... The head of Russia's National Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov stated it plainly: "If a person does not put across his views in the presence of children, no measures against him can be taken," Zhukov said. "People of nontraditional sexual orientations can take part in the competitions and all other events at the Games unhindered, without any fear for their safety whatsoever."
Read more: http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130812/182723811/Russia-Confirms-Anti-Gay-Law-Will-Be-Enforced-at-Olympics.html
tblue
(16,350 posts)Ridiculous.
tofuandbeer
(1,314 posts)That's so generous of them.
Bernardo de La Paz
(48,996 posts)Don't punish the athletes by trying to get them to do the heavy lifting of boycotts by not going.
If the IOC still runs the games in Russia, the athletes should go and speak as freely as they dare.
When silver and bronze medal winners lose to an LGBT athlete, they could say to the media and television things like so-and-so "is very good and a great example of gay/LGBT achievement".
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)Perhaps put it collectively to all of the athletes to vote on this. If they knew that they'd still have a chance to compete in a games in a different locale, there might be good support for this to help keep them all safe and to perhaps send a message that the Olympics should not be politicized, or the host country WILL pay a price.
And as I noted before, perhaps the penalty for Russia should not just be this games, but that no future Olympic games will be hosted by Russia until they have a change of government (to ensure that these policies have changed).
Civilization2
(649 posts)That law is unacceptable,. as are the actions the homophobic are getting away with protected by it,. beatings and "corrective rape",. disgusting, and all is on Putin, who signed the law.
Katashi_itto
(10,175 posts)I think the outcry will force IOC's hand to move it. Either that or face a possible boycott by athletes in general. Course IOC may be getting bribed by Russia to hold it there.
William769
(55,145 posts)I guess they were wrong again.
BTW here what Harvey Fierstein on the subject: http://www.democraticunderground.com/113730099
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)have enough controversy regarding the establishment of all the arenas and traffic flow...the roads to and from etc.
They do a terrible job, there is so much corruption and now to add this is just really dumb.
I feel bad for all the Russians who are incredibly embarrassed over this disgusting law.
michigandem58
(1,044 posts)on human rights. Go figure.
William769
(55,145 posts)Take this bullshit elsewhere! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST ALMIGHTY!
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Olympics and LGBT.
They are ALL tied together. Period.
Nice Christian language BTW.
William769
(55,145 posts)I'll be waiting.
Nice Christian attitude BTW.
William769
(55,145 posts)Tick tock, tick tock.
William769
(55,145 posts)I wonder why?
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)I suggest you stop lecturing DUers to follow non existent religious requirements to post on DU.
Language that confirms to Christian commandments is not a rule on Democratic Underground. Maybe you should post where it is a rule if this troubles you and leave us alone.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)Yes, you heard me. It's FUCKING RUDE and it's obvious you could care less about the OP or you wouldn't try to turn this into another Snowden platform. Hit the tracks, Jack.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I also am sick of posters hijacking threads about the Moscow Olympics and what that means for GLBTs to post about Snowden. Carry it elsewhere!
cstanleytech
(26,283 posts)And yes I include the US among those without a spotless record.
totodeinhere
(13,058 posts)real progress whereas in Russia they are going in the other direction.
cstanleytech
(26,283 posts)should have stepped in years ago and told congress to shove it when they voted and passed DOMA in the first place.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)Congratulations!!!!!!!!
michigandem58
(1,044 posts)Praised them, made it his home. For now.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)this is not about him.
7962
(11,841 posts)BlueManFan
(256 posts)playing tit for tat in 1984. But this is different. I say, fuck it. Pull the games and move them somewhere else. You might have a bigoted, homophobic state, call it misguided popular sovereignty. But you do not have the right to ask people to go there and put their lives and freedom at risk because of their sexual orientation.
DinahMoeHum
(21,783 posts)Let's hear from one who knows, and has actually been there, done that. John Carlos:
". . .if you stay home, your message stays home with you. . .If you stand for justice and equality, you have an obligation to find the biggest possible megaphone to let your feelings be known. Don't let your message be buried and don't bury yourself. To be heard is to be greater than a boycott. . ."
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9522926/gay-rights-sochi-boycott-movement
big_dog
(4,144 posts)warrant46
(2,205 posts)big_dog
(4,144 posts)Iliyah
(25,111 posts)to change venue?
In my opinion I think its hype and Russia will not enforce it because I can image the world's reaction if that happens and it will isolate them even more with the exception of gopers and countries like China.
William769
(55,145 posts)Did you ever think about that?
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)and of course this will be a up hill war for the Russian LGBT community and LGBT around the world. People of all strive must come together. The battle was won here but the war goes on in the USA.
William769
(55,145 posts)If I did, we all would be dead or lying in a gutter.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)not me and I'm far from lying in a gutter.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,307 posts)Changes of venue for the Olympics have only happened when a country is unable to put them on (eg in the aftermath of a war). The IOC is not going to suddenly become an activist organisation.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)There will be sponsors of the programming for the Olympic Games. They might well pull out if they know that for the duration of the Winter Games, their products and services will be boycotted.
It would be an effective way to send a message, as it would be widely reported (by news organizations of networks not showing the Olympics) as to how much money was lost during that time.
The only way to hit at homophobia here is to hit the bottom line.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,307 posts)and it is something that the public can do, rather than relying on a decision by an Olympic committee (or asking individual athletes to pull out).
It might work; the planned boycott of advertisers in Murdoch's News of the World got a lot of support, it forced major companies to pull their ads, and Murdoch then closed the paper. It's easier for advertisers to pull ads from a weekly paper, though - I expect they don't have significant ongoing contracts - while Olympic sponsors will have signed contracts committing to the whole thing. They'd probably be looking at having to pay for it, but just not have their names shown. They'd be looking at the bottom line, and comparing the boycott to the loss of advertising they have to pay for anyway (or long court cases with the IOC claiming the payment, at least).
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Perhaps they have committed, but they have the choice to have their products boycotted for association with the event. In any case, it will make them think twice before buying ad space during an Olympics staged in a homophobic country.
dipsydoodle
(42,239 posts)Coca-Cola and McDonalds condemned Russias new law banning public LGBT advocacy Tuesday. But they arent calling on Vladimir Putins government to repeal it before Februarys Games.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/maxseddon/olympic-sponsors-stand-by-sochi-games-as-criticism-of-anti-g
Outside of the US and maybe the UK I doubt that most would boycott either product. Personally I don't eat Macs or drink Coke anyway - I only use Coke for cleaning banjo parts.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)They can ask that their ads be run, as contracted, and see their business shrink as a direct result, or they can try to weasel out of as much of the contract as they can, and at least ask that the networks pull the ads, maybe run some PSA's or something else.
The Winter Olympics is only a couple of weeks, most people can find a way to do without something for that long. While I don't expect much of the world to go along, having just ten percent of business lost in the US during a time they're spending big bucks to push their brand would definitely send a message to future advertisers.
It's the only thing that I see that has a realistic chance of being organized and in place by the start of the Winter Games. All we need is for a major celebrity to get the ball rolling, someone that sees the chance to make an issue out of this. I doubt that the reich wingers who stood in line for Chick-Fil-A would pick up the slack with Mickey D's and Coke.
Response to Iliyah (Reply #11)
William769 This message was self-deleted by its author.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)Especially when you have people stupid enough to think silence=encouragement.
Sadly, Vlad fits.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)ALL of my concern is about what Russia is doing to it's GLBT citizens every day!
Hekate
(90,645 posts)He brought home 4 gold medals and the US felt it had tweaked Der Fuerher's nose pretty good. Owens and the rest of the African-American contingent brought home nearly 1/4 of the medals awarded to the American team that year.
Is it possible to look at the current nasty predicament in another way than we have so far? We send our athletes -- all of them -- and they keep their heads down and stay below the radar of the Russian police (who are as serious as a heart attack) for as long as it takes to get in and get out. We are not the only nation with gay athletes.
Of course, the alternative is for the IOC to discover its spine and demand a change of venue. If the Russians want to be *holes, let them do it in splendid isolation.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)No. had no effect whatsoever.
Hekate
(90,645 posts)I was born post-WWII, and saw it any number of times during my childhood. It was part of America's progressive post-war optimism. Not politically "progressive" like today, just progress. Making progress. Showing the world that we were better than those guys. Which, thank you, we were in those days. We had a long, long way to go -- but there was Jesse Owens running his heart out and putting the lie to the Aryan pipe dream. My parents' generation somehow didn't want us to forget that moment and what it meant.
"No effect whatsoever"? The effect it had was on US.
former9thward
(31,981 posts)They were replaced by Owens and Ralph Metcalfe. The American coaches did not want to embarrass Hitler by having Jews on the winner's platform.
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/detail.php?content=jewish_athletes_more&lang=en
Hekate
(90,645 posts)... to be sure, but I would like to know if there were any actual statements about not wanting to "embarrass" Hitler, since the US was only too happy to embarrass the little corporal with our black athletes' prowess.
David__77
(23,370 posts)Just perhaps a small event, but attended by foreign children (<18 years old) and adults. It could focus on the diversity of the athletes, including sexual orientation. That might be a way to challenge the law. I would not bring Russian children into it though, as that would have adverse impact on Russian public opinion.
warrprayer
(4,734 posts)Old Soviet Union had more equality for women etc. what is their hangup on gay people? This coming from the former "workers paradise" just doesn't make sense. oh wait I forgot they let the religious fundies back in power. Never mind.
former9thward
(31,981 posts)It was legalized in Russia in 1993 after the USSR broke up.
warrprayer
(4,734 posts)it seems to be a very strange predjudice on their part.
theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)... has a lot to do with it.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)You had plenty of time to back out, and you could have been lauded. You could have sat back and continued to enjoy grinding Snowden into Uncle Sam's hand like a cigar. But no, you had to double down on the stupid, which means you made it very easy for people to remember why they hated you. The Olympics is already something of an old harlot that long ago lost her charms, but it is still time to boycott, shun, and otherwise ruin your party.
totodeinhere
(13,058 posts)those hate laws and then daring the Russian officials to arrest them. This could turn into a real embarrassment for the Russians and that's what they deserve. Actually they deserve much more than that.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)totodeinhere
(13,058 posts)rethink this whole Olympics thing.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)Hekate
(90,645 posts)To hell with the IOC if they won't do the right thing.
Lobo27
(753 posts)riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)in joy and celebration, which of course the kiddies will see...
... and the Russians are going to arrest them?!
Public relations nightmare. I know Johnny Weir is prepared to be arrested there.
Realistically the Russians have painted themselves into a very, very bad place. Sochi could go down in infamy like the Munich Olympics (terrorism) and the boycotted ones.... I would love to see them publicly humiliated for this despicable law.
I will be very interested to see how this turns out.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)so that regular people can go about their lives.
muntrv
(14,505 posts)Behind the Aegis
(53,951 posts)joshcryer
(62,269 posts)ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
From the text in the OP
"If a person does not put across his views in the presence of children, no measures against him can be taken," Zhukov said. "People of nontraditional sexual orientations can take part in the competitions and all other events at the Games unhindered, without any fear for their safety whatsoever."
What the hell is wrong with that exactly??
CC
TDale313
(7,820 posts)That if there *is* a minor present (including their own) one can get arrested for holding hands with their partner/husband/wife, mentioning they have a partner/husband/wife... Think maybe lgtb people are, I dunno, people? Are you really asking what's wrong with that?
ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
It appears to be a comprehension problem.
"If a person does not put across his views in the presence of children"
Holding hands with a gay partner does not equal putting across their views IMO.
women kiss, guys hug, nothing to do with being gay.
Now if they were fondling each other . . .
"When in Rome . . . . . "
get it?
CC
TDale313
(7,820 posts)Also from the article:
"Many have raised concerns about the vague definition of promoting homosexuality to minors."
That's part of the issue. It is very vague. This isn't about having sex in public, or even being out. It can be anything acknowledging lgtb people exist in a non-negative manner anywhere a minor might be. Now, are they likely to go locking tourists or athletes at the Olympics up for mentioning their friend Susie and her wife in front of a 16 year old? No, probably not. Could they? Possibly, perhaps probably.
More concerning? What happens to the Russian lgtb community when the two weeks are up and the world's eyes are no longer on Russia to this extent?
alp227
(32,018 posts)ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
"The head of Russia's National Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov stated it plainly: "If a person does not put across his views in the presence of children, no measures against him can be taken," Zhukov said. "People of nontraditional sexual orientations can take part in the competitions and all other events at the Games unhindered, without any fear for their safety whatsoever."
___________________________________________________________________________________________
That statement is all over the Globe now, so I think Putin is wise enough that not to honor it would be counterproductive.
Many may not like Putin, but I think it would be foolish to underestimate his intelligence.
CC
William769
(55,145 posts)Even your own Government has spoken out about it. Maybe you should ask them to clarify it for you.
ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
I ain't particularly happy with my own government either.
Fricken HarperDude is a morphed Idiot-Son, only with brains, which makes him much more dangerous.
I've fought my own government for over 4 decades -
Yup - I love Canada, the land and it's people -
doesn't mean I love my government,
and I sure don't.
CC
William769
(55,145 posts)ConcernedCanuk
(13,509 posts).
.
.
especially where the responses are abrupt or obtuse.
FYI - I am a single male "straight" person by society's designation.
However, I have friends that are gay and/or lesbian, does not bother me one bit.
I do not relate to people on their beliefs, sexual orientation and so on.
I relate to them on how they relate to me.
One more comment like you have made to my 2 previous responses I'll just put you on "Brain Ignore".
I have no need to utilize DU's "Ignore" function, my brain can do that.
Intelligent, respectful debate I'll engage in.
This appears to be neither.
CC
William769
(55,145 posts)Keep digging that hole. And this is my last response to you.
ZombieHorde
(29,047 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)Orsino
(37,428 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)usGovOwesUs3Trillion
(2,022 posts)At least some states are FINALLY passing laws allowing for same sex marriage.
and we FINALLY ended DADT.
Still a long way to go, so the struggle continues!
undiegrinder
(79 posts)Either it changes venues or it's in violation of its own charter.
"In detail the role of the IOC, according to the Olympic Charter, is: ... To act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement ..."
http://www.olympic.org/about-ioc-institution
Heywood J
(2,515 posts)They looked into his soul!
yesphan
(1,587 posts)to see if Russian judges will be compelled to give low scores to athletes that are tagged as being
a person of nontraditional sexual orientation.
Lancero
(3,003 posts)First it's going to be enforced. Then it isn't. Now it is.
When will Russia make up it's mind on this?