Please share this release and info far and wide, and join us at the action tomorrow. Thank you.
For Immediate Release
Gays to Fly Rainbow Flag Outside Russian Consulate in San Francisco;
Protest Part of Global LGBT Solidarity Campaign
San Francisco, CA -- On Saturday, August 3, 2013, at 12:00 pm (noon) San Franciscans will gather at the Russian Consulate at 2790 Green Street (near Baker Street) to protest new anti-gay laws passed in Russia that subjects LGBT Russians and foreign nationals to fines, arrests and possible jail time, and which have provoked violent attacks on LGBT Russians.
The protest will feature erecting a 20 foot portable flagpole and flying an enormous rainbow flag in front of the consulate. Activists will also stage a picket line.
On June 11, 2013, Russia’s Parliament (The Duma) unanimously passed the federal act banning “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.” The new law imposes steep fines on anyone who equates the value of same-sex relationships between consenting adults with relationships between individuals of the opposite sex. The fines become significantly higher if one promotes the ideas of equality through the mass media or the Internet. Foreign nationals charged with such “propaganda” are subject to arrest, 15 days in jail, fines, and deportation. Russian authorities are already arresting and fining both citizens and visitors.
These laws make it illegal to discuss LGBT topics in public forums and to offer support to gay minors (under the age of 18). Hate crimes are on the rise in Russia since the laws went into effect. Entrapment and brutal beatings of people perceived as gay have been widely reported.
The August 3 noon action at the Russian Consulate is organized by lots of grassroots LGBT persons, their allies and the Gays Without Borders activist group.
Contacts:
Michael Petrelis: 415-621-6267
MPetrelis@aol.com
Aaron Baldwin: 415-377-8147
AaronBaldwinSF@gmail.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/199695966861003
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