Putin Bans "LGBTQ Behavior" In Russia: Texas Reps Take Inspiration

Vladamir Putin has signed a new law banning "public expression of LGBTQ+ behavior." This year, Texas has proposed several laws to similar effect. Far right governments around the world are following.

Photo by Valery Tenevoy on Unsplash

Vladamir Putin signed into law on Monday a regulation that would ban public activity that could be interpreted as “pro-LGBTQ+.” The new law specifically mentions that “displays of non-heterosexual relations” are now considered “information harmful to children” and therefore banned. This law essentially could ban LGBTQ+ people from public life and force them into hiding their identities - something especially hard for transgender people. Other countries have likewise passed repressive anti-LGBTQ+ laws in recent years. While the US media has mostly decried these laws, there has been silence around similar proposed laws here in the United States. In particular, the state of Texas in the last month has proposed 12 bills that also seek to curtail LGBTQ+ people and especially transgender people from public life.

While it may seem like the wholesale banning of LGBTQ+ people from public spaces is a distinctly foreign, authoritarian phenomenon, we are not far from such things here in the United States. Just last month, a bill was proposed that would define transgender people performing in public as ‘“doing drag” and therefore would ban them from being in the presence of minors. Many activists have pointed out the Texas laws would in effect ban transgender people from any sort of “performance” in public such as comedy, a play, singing, and more. The immediate large impact of the bill would be to make pride parades where transgender people are present illegal. This has immediate parallels to far-right governments around the world.

In 2012, Russia extended a 100 year ban on pride parades. Vladamir Putin has been quoted at saying that trans acceptance is “on the verge of a crime against humanity.” The willingness for Russia and other far right governments to ban LGBTQ+ activities and criminalize being trans is not unique to them. In Hungary, Viktor Orban’s government banned LGBTQ+ depiction in any form of media that anyone under 18 can see, as well as other forms of what they call “gay propaganda.” Likewise, Hungary passed a law that denied transgender and intersex people any legal recognition of their gender. In Romania, an anti-LGBTQ+ law has been under discussion that would make pride parades illegal if any children could possibly see them.

Laws criminalizing LGBTQ+ people are sadly growing, and this includes in the United States. Just earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a letter to Governor Greg Abbott indicating that parents allowing their transgender teens to receive gender affirming care - the medical standard of care from all US medical agencies - would be considered child abuse. They mandated that teachers report transgender youth to child protective services, and this resulted in terrible consequences. One kid was called out of class and interrogated for hours. Another teenager needed to be hospitalized due to a mental health crisis and suicide attempt - their family drove them to Oklahoma because they knew that they could be criminalized in the state of Texas if they brought their child in to a Texas hospital. Multiple families have fled the state, leading places like California to pass safe state laws protecting transgender refugees and fugitives.

The Texas GOP platform mirrors the anti-LGBTQ+ laws of Russia and other far right governments in other ways as well. In the recently released Texas GOP platform, the Texas GOP calls for an end to legal acknowledgement of transgender people’s gender identities. They want to eliminate gender changes on all public documents in a manner similar to Hungary in 2020, as well as eliminate social transition for trans youth (non-medical transition), enforcing gender norms:

This is not limited to just Texas - the republican party as a whole has been trending towards far-right governments on LGBTQ+ elimination. There are 6 states that ban LGBTQ+ topics in schools in various ways and an additional 5 that have parential opt out policies. These bills would make it impossible for transgender teachers to share their pronouns with their classroom. Recently, a national bill has been proposed by Senator Mike Johnson that would ban any entity receiving federal funding - this covers hospitals, schools, contractors, and more - to “expose” people under 10 to transgenderism or homosexuality. Marjorie Taylor Greene recently released a bill that would ban even teaching gender affirming care in medical schools against the law.

It is important that we recognize far right extremism in the United States as in line with far right extremism in other countries, especially in how those countries interact with their LGBTQ+ populations. LGBTQ+ people, and in particular, transgender people are some of the first people targeted when these governments gain power. We saw recently in Italy, the pro-life group Pro Vita immediately targeted schools in Italy for allowing transgender youth to have any recognition of their gender whatsoever. The new far right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, supported Pro Vita in her campaign.

We also see an increase in violence against LGBTQ+ people in other countries as far right governments clamp down with laws designed to curtail rights. Far right militant groups in Russia like Pila have attacked and even killed LGBTQ+ people there as watchdogs report violence is increasing. Poland and other countries have seen similar increases in violence. Italy recently killed legislation that would have defined attacks on LGBTQ+ people in Italy a hate crime. This all tracks with anti-LGBTQ+ militant activity in the United States as well, where several far-right groups continue to build steam targeting LGBTQ+ events and calling LGBTQ+ people groomers.

It is important to recognize the connections between anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment globally and here at home. The political fight often feels local, but it is occurring within a global undercurrent of backlash fueled by authoritarians seeking to demonize a minority with little power. Extremist politicians try to take advantage of the increasing fear of LGBTQ+ acceptance in order to be elected, and they seek to exploit hate to maintain their power.