Ireland’s progress on gay rights offers hope

A BILL that stigmatises gay people and bans giving children any information about homosexuality won overwhelming approval last week in Russia’s lower house of parliament.

Hours before the State Duma passed the Kremlin-backed law in a 436-0 vote with one abstention, more than two dozen protesters were attacked by hundreds of anti-gay activists and then detained by police.

The bill banning the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” still needs to be passed by the appointed upper house and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, but that is very likely now.