Will Russia ever have equal rights for their LGBTQ citizens?

I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Yes, but not in my lifetime and certainly not as long as Tsar Vladimir sits upon the throne.

I think within a generation Russia will barely lag behind Europe and ourselves in regard to such matters. Speaking of which will Kansas or Alabama ever have equal rights for their LGBTQ citizens?

I think so. I wonder how bad it really is anyway. It would be really easy to make America look anti-LGBTQ. Bunches of politicians, regular citizens, and Facebook pages are full of anti-equal rights in America. We only just legalized gays in the military and gay marriage. People are still bitching about it. As an American I certainly don’t feel like I can brag about my country on this topic. We are going to criticize another country about gay rights? Maybe in 20 years from now, but right now, we barely have a leg to stand on.

Yes, but who knows when?
But I believe the answer is yes, because I have faith that progress favors overturning oppression. Once someone has a right, it is hard to take it from them.

@JLeslie Russia passed severe laws against LGBTQ people a few years back, Putin has openly castigated gay people, many have been beaten, killed, and imprisoned.

It is very bad.

@zenvelo Well, Putin won’t be there forever. 50 years ago our police in some states were castigating gay people, and black people for that matter. Under the law.

When HIV hit the scene in the 80’s Reagan and his government turned a blind eye for a long time in many ways, because it was a gay disease. You don’t want to upset the religious right, and many people don’t realize Reagan cared about that. Many gay men died, and so did people and children with hemophilia. They could have prevented so many of the deaths that were caused by using tainted hemophilia drugs.

@JLeslie I am not trying to excuse history in the US, yet you seem to say that Russia isn’t really that bad.

There has been a gradual move towards equality on Gay right world wide, some places faster than others. But Russia took huge strides backwards, where people who were out were being forced into the closet. The activism of Pussy Riot and the subsequent jailing of some of its members were statements on feminism and in defense of LGBT rights.

@zenvelo I’m not trying to say Russia isn’t that bad, I’m just wondering if there are haven cities, like what we had in NYC and San Fran, and some other places. Growing up in DC I went to all the gay clubs. In FL during the 90’s I was very much a part of the gay community. The laws still were pretty bad. No one getting arrested or beaten by officers, but certainly their lives were not equal in many ways.

It appalls me gay people have to live under threat of the inequality under the law and violence. It’s horrific on every level.

@JLeslie there aren’t “sanctuary cities” that are less homophobic. It is a national problem, And it was an issue for the Sochi games two years ago.

And Russia has cracked down on anyone who even speaks out in support of LGBTQ rights.

There was a very interesting documentary on gays in Russia within the past two years. Gays are very “underground” in Russia for fear for their lives. I agree with @Espiritus_Corvus, not as long as Putin is in power.

@zenvelo I wonder how the Russian people feel?

There are also Middle East countries that are incredibly harsh and scary on this topic, not just Russia. I wonder why Russia is so in the news about it? Because it’s big?

Sure, it’s possible, but as others have been saying, the current regime makes it difficult. Russia is not like, say, an Islamic theocracy where the religious law exclusively forbids homosexuality so that it will never be accepted at a state level. It is possible in Russia for things to change, but given that Putin has been in power since 1999, it may be a while. Countries that are bogged down in other problems generally don’t care much about the LGBT community. In fact, they’re often an easy scapegoat for those other problems.

Russia does not have equal rights for anybody.