the russians can pass whatever law they want to, its their country. fortunately, in the USofA, we are still sane. the cost of enforcing anti-gay laws is obscene, although I understand that many here favor the use of peeping toms, snitches and cameras to prosecute gays.
Historically, anti-sodomy laws were not enforced this way. I don’t know where people get the idea from that they are especially invasive or expensive. They mainly existed to punish people for behaving scandalously. There weren’t gestapo busting down your doors in the middle of the night looking for fabulous shoes or whatever.
I’m also amused that
the United States is your standard for what constitutes “sane.”
Reading some of these answers is breaking my heart. Yes, homosexual acts are not accepted by the Catholic teachings but this doesn’t mean that homosexual people don’t deserve respect and love. What happened to your hearts? Where is your compassion? These laws in Russia (but something similar happened also in Uganda) are encouraging a culture of hate and are de facto making legal bullying and persecution. Each individual is responsible for his/her own moral and religious choices and, if these choices are not hurting other citizens, the state should guarantee and defend the freedom of each person.
People are indeed entitled to “love and respect,” but you seem to be using the phrase a different way than the Church does. The love and respect to which people are entitled is one that treats them like adults with reason and free will and therefore moral responsibility, not harmless children at whom you roll your eyes and shake your head and walk away chuckling. When homosexual activists (the subject of this bill) take it upon themselves to aggressively subvert public morality, scandalize children, and upset social order so that they can gratify their obscene lusts without consequence, then they make themselves enemies of social order and the state is perfectly within its rights to act in such a way as to safeguard that order with proportionate means. This includes expulsion from the country if they are immigrants (i.e., guests who are duty-bound to obey with love and gratitude the laws and customs of their host nation).
None of this is me talking out my behind, by the way; it’s right there in the Magisterium of the Church, and yes, even the conciliar and postconciliar Magisterium.
In Russia homophobia is rising, you can easily do a google search to see for yourself reports of beating and killing of homosexuals. It’s not uncommon in history that governments try to find a scapegoat and a common enemy in times of challenge. I think this sudden interest of the Russian government in anti-gay law (homosexual acts are decriminalized in Russia since 1993) is a political move. First the ban of US adoptions, now the anti-gay laws… Doesn’t this ring a bell?
When the state doesn’t do its job, people tend to take matters into their own hands. The solution is not for the state to walk away from its moral responsibilities but to repent of its errors and embrace those responsibilities. That, it seems to me, is exactly what Russia is doing.
And what’s wrong with the ban on US adoptions? They had excellent reasons for that move, not wanting to risk putting their children put in the care of unrepentant perverts.
@estesbob
“Love the sinner, hate the sin”.
I am Catholic and I think that homosexuality is a grave sin but if anybody hurts, bullies or discriminates my gay brother/sister I really can’t accept it.
The object of this bill is not homosexuals qua homosexuals but homosexual activists, i.e., paraders and marchers, scandalous dressers, etc. Aggressors against public morality are not victims in need of protection, they are criminals in need of punishment.
Russia would be better off working to promote compassion and respect for people of a homosexual persuasion.
Why do you think you’re in a better position than Russians to know what Russians need?
Homosexual relationships are …
Once again, the law proposed here doesn’t criminalize “homosexual relationships,” it criminalizes aggressive attacks on public morality.
I would encourage you to see my post #5. Reasonable people can discuss whether or not it is
prudentially a good idea for
this particular nation at this particular time to pass this particular law, but it seems we are not allowed to discuss whether the state is
in principle the guardian of public morality. On this, the Church has spoken pretty definitively, and more than once.
Supporters here should be thrilled.
news.yahoo.com/russian-anti-gay-bill-passes-protesters-detained-145841244.html
Such moral and upstanding with good traditional family values…
(from the article, emphasis mine)
Does anyone want to be even mildly associated with such people?
As has been said already, vigilantism is always an evil
which is provoked by the state’s failure to do its duty. The solution is for the state to do its duty.
Good for Russia! I wish the west could have a moral backbone but people get to caught up in this everything is ok and there is no black and white anymore, that its their right to be that way
. Gay rights? there shouldn’t be such a thing
and if you oppose this or call out the sins your a racist