Moscow mayor to pay smallest price possible for calling gays 'homos'

The organizing committee of the gay pride parade in Moscow decided to sue Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov to defend their honor and dignity at court. Nikolai Alekseyev, the organizer of the parade, said that Moscow mayor released yet another insulting and xenophobic statement about homosexual individuals.

Photo: Moscow mayor to pay smallest price possible for calling gays 'homos'

It goes about Mr. Luzhkov’s appearance on “Face to the City” TV program which was aired on TV-Center channel June 2. Luzhkov tried to explain the reason why the Moscow government does not allow gay pride parades.

“There are two reasons, which make gay pride parades unacceptable in Moscow. First and foremost, the public morale does not accept such parades, the public morale does not accept those homos,” RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The second reason, as Luzhkov sees it, is about the safety of sexual minorities themselves.

“If they gather together, even if we assume that they are allowed to hold the parade, other people will simply kills them. There are radical Christians in Moscow who stand strongly against such demonic manifestations, as they say,” Luzhkov said.

“There were attempts made to hold the gay parade during the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. We had to isolate about 19 radical Christians who intended to attack those homos,” Interfax quoted Yury Luzhkov as saying.

“Mayor Luzhkov insulted all those people who took to the streets on May 16 this year to stand up for their constitutional and civil rights, to say something against discrimination and violence against sexual minorities. The mayor illegally banned the march that was supposed to be held to promote tolerance, rights and liberties of homosexual individuals,” gay activist Nikolai Alekseyev said.

Gay activists seek a symbolic compensation from Luzhkov for humiliating their honor and dignity – one kopeck (the smallest monetary unit in Russia equal to one-hundredth of one ruble). They also stated that they would be ready to take the case to the European Court for Protection of Human Rights.

The organizers of the Moscow gay pride parade will also send a complaint to the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation with a request to determine if Mr. Luzhkov’s remarks violated Article 282 of the Russian Penal Code, which stipulates criminal responsibility for inciting hatred and hostility based on social affiliation.

Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov previously described gay pride parades as “satanic acts” and referred to homosexuals as “weapons of mass destruction.” He also said that homosexual individuals were responsible for distributing HIV infection in Moscow.

Luzhkov banned all public actions of gays and lesbians in Moscow. He personally banned gay pride parades in Russia’s capital in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.