After approval of constitutional changes, Russian lawmakers seek to ban gay marriage & adoption of children by LGBT couples

Seven Russian senators have introduced a package of bills that would prohibit same-sex marriage, ban gay couples from adopting children, and prevent people from getting married after gender reassignment.

Led by Senator Elena Mizulina, the head of the Senate's committee on updating the country's ‘Family Code’, the proposals follow in the footsteps of Russia's constitutional amendments which officially defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

In March, the country's Constitutional Court deemed the changes to be lawful, but insisted that it does not remove the state's obligation to respect differences, including in regards to sexual orientation.

“The bill stops the practice of marriage between two people of the same sex, as well as those who have had a sex-change, and subsequently prevents these couples from adopting children,” Senator Mizulina said.

The proposed bill would amend Article 14 of Russia's ‘Family Code’, which contains the reasons why someone is not allowed to marry. As things currently stand, this article does not list two people of the same gender as an impediment to marriage. Although the country does not register same-sex marriages, there have been at least two occasions when those married abroad have been recognized as a couple in Russia.

Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin announced that as long as he was the leader of Russia there would be no “parent number 1” and “parent number 2,” but a “father” and “mother.”

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