Gaily Observer: Russian homophobia documented | Gay leaders allowed in U.S Scouts

From Russia with (no) love

IN a new study to come out of Russia from its state-run opinion research centre VTsIOM, it has reported alarming facts about the country’s level of homophobia.

According to the latest poll, the proportion of respondents who consider LGBTI people dangerous and said they should be “isolated from society” grew from 12 per cent in 2004 to 20 per cent.

However, 22 per cent said they didn’t care about other people’s sexual orientations compared with 24 per cent in 2004.

But nearly half of all respondents (41 per cent) said the authorities should persecute people with “untraditional sexual preferences” in order to “exterminate the phenomenon”, while only 12 per cent agreed that the government should protect LGBTI people from discrimination.

H/T: Pride Life

Blanket ban on gay US Scout leaders to end

BOY Scouts of America has unanimously approved a resolution that would end the organisation’s blanket ban on gay adult leaders and allow individual Scout units to set their own policy on the issue.

In a statement released on Monday, the BSA announced that the decision would become official policy immediately if ratified by the organisation’s 80-member National Executive Board at a meeting on July 27.

Under the new resolution, local scout units would be able to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation.

This follows the 2013 decision to allow openly-gay youth to become part of the scouts.

H/T: BBC World News

Russian homophobia documented on film

A VIDEO staged as a social experiment for ChebuRussiaTV featuring two straight men holding hands as they walk through the streets of Moscow has gone viral on social media.

The video, which has had more than one million views since it was posted on Sunday, shows passersby shout expletives and homophobic slurs at the men, and at one point physical aggression.

No help or support from the often busy surroundings was ever documented in the video.

Watch it below:

H/T: The Telegraph (UK)