Ukraine lawmakers seek ban on gay pride parades

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Ukraine gay rights rally in Kiev. (Photo courtesy of .themalaysianinsider.com)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports:

Sixty-one Ukrainian lawmakers have signed a petition urging Kyiv’s mayor to ban a gay-pride parade in the Ukrainian capital scheduled for May 25.

Ukraine’s Family Movement leader Pavlo Unhuryan, who is also a [member of parliament], announced on May 20 that the petition requests a total ban on gay-pride parades “and similar events in Kyiv in May-June 2013.”

The petition states that such events “may lead to violent clashes” between those who support homosexuals and those who oppose them.

Last year, plans for a gay pride parade were abandoned after police said they could not protect marchers and one of the organizers was beaten by an anti-gay mob.

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The Ukraine parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, is considering a ban on “gay propaganda,” but the parliament is also considering an antidiscrimination law that would apply to sexual minorities.

Last week, the parliament postponed a debate on that issue when hundreds of anti-gay protesters gathered outside the parliament. In February, the parliament had added that bill to its agenda.