Russia Gay Pride Marches Denied for Next 100 by Courts
A court in Moscow has upheld a decision issued by a previous court that denied the issuance of permits which would have been for "gay pride" marches for the next hundred years, according to local media reports.
Homosexual activists in Russia applied for the permits from March 2012 through May 2112 to organize a march using a loophole found in the current law that does not place a time limit on the types of permits requested. They understood in advance that the request would likely be denied, as reported by The Christian Telegraph.
Local activists explained they were aiming to have the century worth of permits denied so that they would be able to file a discrimination complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.
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According to local media reports, officials in Moscow sent a letter to the activists explaining the proper procedure for the type of permit requested.
Nikolay Alexeyev, one of the activists' leaders, had the case heard before Moscow's City Court after he claimed the process exceeded the 15-day time limit required by law to respond to the request for the permits.
In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights issued a penalty after previous attempts to gain the proper permits were denied. Reports indicate the Moscow city government ignored the monetary penalty and has continued to deny permits for the march.
"Our appeals are turned down time after time, and Strasbourg calls these decisions unlawful," Alexeyev said.
"Time passes, we ask for a new action, and we are rejected again. This time we want to challenge the ban on prospective gay pride parades in Strasbourg," he added.
A poll conducted earlier this year by state-run VTsIOM, showed 86 percent of the 1,600 respondents stated that they were in favor up upholding the current ban on promoting homosexual relationships. A separate 2010 poll found that 74 percent of Russians felt that homosexuality is "an amoral mental deviation," according to LifeSiteNews.com
