I wrote yesterday about a journalist and lesbian mom in Russia who is leaving the country because she fears the new anti-gay laws that could take her children away from her. She’s not the only one. Here are more stories of gay and lesbian parents and their struggles under the new laws.
In an article from Agence France-Presse (via Raw Story) that I just missed seeing for my post yesterday, we learn of Maria, Alexandra and their seven-year-old daughter (names may have been changed), who have started to apply for residency in Canada. We also read of Olga, who fears what will happen if her young daughter talks about their family in school. We read of Artyom, who is the biological father of twins he is helping to raise with a lesbian couple, and who talks of the “working legend” he and his family have — “the semblance of a regular traditional family.”
There’s a petition over at Change.org asking Olympic sponsors to condemn the state-sponsored homophobia in Russia. I hope you’ll consider signing it. Will we need a full-on boycott? I hope it doesn’t come to that, but stay tuned.
While I would be outraged to read these stories in any case, I feel a personal connection here. Several of my ancestors left Russia at the turn of the previous century because of anti-Semitism there. To leave one’s homeland or to stay in the face of injustice? Both choices bring risks and worries, even to the families lucky enough to have a choice. My heart goes out to the families above, whatever they do to protect themselves and their children.
Finally, let us not forget that Russia is hardly the only country with harsh anti-LGBT laws, as the National Geographic Daily News site reminds us, and as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission further explains. This is a human rights issue, and because LGBT people may also be parents, it is a children’s rights issue. Children deserve to stay with their loving parents, no matter the parents’ sexual orientation or gender identity, no matter where in the world they live.