Russia’s embattled LGBTQ+ community suffers another blow after president Vladimir Putin signs legislation that bans people from changing their genders either officially or medically.
The act, which has been passed unanimously by both houses of parliament, bans any “medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person,” as well changing one’s gender in public records or official documents. The only exception will be medical intervention to treat congenital anomalies.
The act also annuls marriages, wherein one person has changed gender and it also forbids transgender people from becoming foster or adoptive parents.
The ban is said to stem from the Kremlin’s crusade to protect what they describe it as country’s “traditional values.” Lawmakers say the legislation is to safeguard Russia against “western anti-family ideology,” which has been described by some as “pure satanism.”
Russia’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ people started a decade ago when the president first proclaimed a focus on “traditional family values,” supported by the Orthodox church of Russia.