|
News
|
 |
|
29 June 2009, 10:22Gay community plans to picket U.S. embassy in Moscow during Obama visit
Moscow, June 29, Interfax - Activists of Russia's sexual minorities plan to picket the U.S. embassy in Moscow during President Barack Obama's visit to Moscow in July in support of the legalization of same-sex marriages in a number of U.S. states.
The initiators of the picket filed notification with the administration of Moscow's Central Administrative District and plan picket on July 7, on the second day of Obama's visit, Nikolay Alexeyev, the leader of the Moscow gay community and the organizer of a number of gay parades that were routinely banned by Moscow authorities in the past, told Interfax.
"As the main motto of the future action, the gay activists have decided to use a rephrased motto of Barack Obama's election campaign, "Yes We Can". The [gay] activists will hold the picket addressing the U.S. president, "Yes You Can", implying the legalization of same-sex marriages," Alexeyev said.
"We are determined to gather for our action regardless of the Moscow authorities' decision," he said.
The Moscow authorities earlier refused to sanction gay parades in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The organizers have contested all these bans by filing appeals with the European Court of Human Rights. |
