On Thursday, Russian lawmakers unanimously backed a bill that would extend an existing ban on promoting so-called LGBTQ+ "propaganda" among children to adults.
Providing LGBTQ+ information has been a criminal offense in Russia since 2013, and anyone convicted of violating the restriction faces fines of between 50K roubles ($815) and 400K roubles ($6,520). Citizens of other nations who break the Russian law can face expulsion.
This bill is a censorship tool that's being used in an absurd attempt to humiliate and discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community. It's just the latest iteration of Putin's authoritarian overreach and imposition of draconian values.
While the rights of sexual minorities are important to any society, the US has historically deployed its self-righteous "values-based" foreign policy as a weapon to further its global hegemony. This bill is important to safeguarding Russia's traditional principles and will go a long way to countering the West's pursuit of woke imperialism.