Elton John to Ukraine: Stop violence against gays
Singer Elton John interrupted his AIDS charity concert in Kiev on June 30 to plead with Ukrainians to stop attacking LGBT people, Reuters reported.
During the concert, which was associated with the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, John said he visits Ukraine so often that he considers it his “second home.” He added:
“Recently I read about violence against gay people in Ukraine. Beating up gay people is wrong. This for me does not symbolize Ukraine. …
“I plead with you: Stop the violence against gay people.”
Effects of such violence included the cancellation of a gay pride parade in May after police said they could not protect the marchers. Two prominent gay activists have been beaten up by anti-gay thugs in the past two months in Kiev.
In addition, the parliament in Ukraine is considering a bill to prohibit “gay propaganda” such as pride parades.
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