Russia's lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, has approved the first reading of a series of amendments to the country's controversial "gay propaganda" law, an expansion of the legislation that rights activists say has put LGBT people at risk and led to increased discrimination and violence.
The bill, sponsored by some 400 lawmakers, was unanimously approved in the first of three readings on October 27.
The amendments to the 2013 law, if approved as expected, ban the "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships" entirely and authorize the blocking of Internet resources that cover LGBT topics and ban films that the government interprets as containing such propaganda.
Under the draft law, information about "nontraditional lifestyles" or "the rejection of family values" would be legally on a par with pornography, promoting violence, or encouraging racial, ethnic, or religious enmity.
Russian authorities have said that the "gay propaganda" law and the amendments are needed to help defend morality in the face of what they argue are un-Russian liberal values promoted by the West. Human rights activists say the legislation is being used to intimidate Russia's LGBT community.
Homosexuality was a criminal offence in Russia until 1993 and classed as a mental illness until 1999.
In 2020, Russia adopted a new constitution that included wording defining marriage solely as the union of a man and a woman.
