Hurra for Russia!

Moscow Mayor Luzhkov Says “No” to Gay Pride Parade

By Gudrun Schultz
MOSCOW, Russia, May 19, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov has refused to grant a permit for a gay pride parade in Russia’s capital.
Luzhkov came under heavy criticism by an official at the Council of Europe, among others, for his decision earlier in the year to ban the parade planned for May. Organizers of the demonstration went ahead and applied for a permit earlier this week, but their application was denied.
The president of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities at the Council of Europe, Giovanni di Stasi, wrote a letter to Mayor Luzhkov in March, charging that the ban violated the Council’s Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Russian Orthodox and Jewish leaders expressed their support in March for Mayor Luzhkov’s decision, saying the promotion of homosexuality went against the teaching of their faiths.
The Congress of the Jewish Religious Organizations and Associations in Russia issued a statement in support of Mayor Luzhkov’s decision in March, saying, “Such parade is not a demonstration but propagation of a sin. We are in solidarity with the Russian Orthodox Church, not only for the present, but also for the future of our country.”
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II sent a letter to Mayor Luzhkov, made public in March, congratulating him for his opposition to the ‘gay pride’ parade.
“Please accept our gratitude for your decision to protect Moscow and Muscovites against attempts to organize a public parade of propaganda for sin,” he said in the letter.
“The Church treats people with such [homosexual] inclinations with pastoral responsibility, urging them to reform and resolutely opposes any attempts to present this sinful tendency as a ‘norm’ and example to follow. The Church does not accept any propaganda for immorality.”
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Russian Lesbian Couple "Married" in Canada Hopes to Force Russia to Recognize Union

By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiTORONTO, October 28, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Two Russian lesbians have travelled all the way to Canada to be "married" under Canadian law in order to try to force Russian authorities to recognize their union.Though homosexuality is not illegal in Russia, Russian law states that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.The couple is hoping to exploit a loophole in Russian law which does not specify the gender of those married abroad.Irina Fedotova-Fet and Irina Shipitko came to Canada with the help of the homosexual advocacy group Egale Canada, and were "married" in Toronto on Friday by Harvey Brownstone, a well-known openly homosexual judge.The couple's lawyer, Russian homosexual rights campaigner Nikolai Alexeyev, told GayRussia.ru, "We are delighted with the warm welcome in this wonderful country and in this stunning city of Toronto. Even though it is not my marriage, this is a day I will hardly forget. We are grateful to the Canadian LGBT organisation EGALE for helping us in organising the wedding of our Irinas in Toronto."
The two lesbians' attempt to "marry" in Russia in May was refused by the Moscow marriage registry office. The Tverskoi District Court in Moscow upheld the decision of the city authorities on October 6, saying same-sex "marriages" are illegal in Russia.Russian news service RIA Novosti noted that though homosexuality is no longer a criminal offense in Russia, there is little public support for "gay rights.""The city of Moscow has never allowed a gay pride parade or rights demonstration, which the mayor has called satanic," RIA Novosti commented.Fedotova-Fet and Shipitko are expected to return to Russia this week and have said they are willing to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.