Rally to Protest Repression against LGBTQ Community and Others in Russia

Call to Action! RALLY to PROTEST RISING REPRESSION of LGBTQ COMMUNITY and OTHERS in RUSSIA

When the 2014 Winter Olympics open in Sochi, Russia, the world will smile at the gathering of elite athletes striving to ski and skate for gold. But beyond the Olympic spotlight, millions of Russians are subject to increasing repression. Led by President Vladimir Putin, the government has passed a law forbidding even neutral expression regarding “non-traditional” sexuality and is considering a law to remove children from gay or lesbian parents. With bans on peaceful protests, the increasing repression of leftists, feminists, and others who oppose nationalism or xenophobia, the safety of LGBTQ athletes and visitors to Russia is imperiled, and the institutionalized suppression of information leaves Russian LGBTQ youths to lead lives of isolation, desperation, and suicide.

The Olympic Charter prohibits discrimination of any kind, and even though that value is ignored when the Olympics are staged in the U.S., the International Olympic Committee’s choice of Russia is worrisome because brutal violence against sexual minorities and immigrants is growing at an alarming rate. The possibility of fascism is on the horizon. We call on the Bay Area LGBTQ community, human rights activists and those concerned with repression abroad and at home to rally with us to take a stand.

Rally in solidarity with Russian LGBTQ people and in defense of human rights at home and abroad!
Bigotry is not a family value!