Moscow forbids gay parades

The city of Moscow is continuing its bigoted ban on gay parades:

MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Any attempt to hold a gay parade in Moscow next month will be firmly dealt with by the authorities, a City Hall spokesman said on Wednesday.

"There have been no official applications for permission to hold gay parades during the May holidays and all attempts to hold such events will be firmly stopped by the authorities," Leonid Krutakov said.

The head of Gay Russia Project, Nikolai Alekseyev, said earlier that several public gay events have been scheduled for May 16, when the final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest is due to take place in Moscow.

Over the past three years, the Moscow city authorities have rejected official applications by organizers seeking permission to hold gay parades, on the grounds that the event would interfere with the rights and everyday lives of ordinary Muscovites.

Mayor Yury Luzhkov has branded gay parades as "Satanic" and vowed never to permit them in his city. Various far-right groups have also threatened to suppress gay pride events. In previous years, pride celebrations in Moscow have been marred by anti-gay violence.

Comments

[cfrost]

Yury Luzhkov has branded gay parades as "Satanic"

Interesting. I didn't realize that the Prince of Darkness had a sexual orientation.