Growing legal acceptance of gays in the US is stark contrast to Russia, Uganda - report

A report by Bloomberg chronicled the progress of gay rights in countries all over the world.

Russia and Uganda made headlines in the past few weeks after its lawmakers passed anti-gay laws with sever penalties ranging from lifetime imprisonment to the death penalty. Olympic athletes who participated in the recently-concluded 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics called out President Vladimir Putin's signing of laws that ban the adoption of Russian-born children by gay foreigners and ban on disseminating non-traditional sexual relations information to minors. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had inked legislation that hands out a 14-year prison sentence for an initial homosexual act and a life imprisonment for repeated offenses.

Senior lecturer Richard Mole in East European studies at University College London said that the new anti-gay laws are more for political aspirations rather than recognizing the shift seen on society norms. He told Bloomberg, "Since the collapse of the U.S.S.R., Russia has been searching for its special mission. Establishing itself as the defender of traditional values against Western decadence can be seen as a way for Russia to fulfill its historical destiny."

On the other hand, director John Green of the Ray C. Bliss Institute at the University of Akron in Ohio cautions pundits who assume the laws are for political advances. He told the news agency, "I'd be very cautious about drawing too close a parallel, because each of the circumstances are different and each of the leaders have different motivations. It's important to remember that Russia and Uganda are not as thoroughly democratized."

Meanwhile, the change in views about awarding gays legal rights like recognition of same-sex unions and inclusion to state spousal benefits in the US were said to be mostly due to economical reasons. Lawyer E. Joshua Rosenkranz, who represented a hundred companies to oppose a California ban on same-sex unions last year said, "A lot of opinion leaders are realizing that this is a moment in time where they have to decide whether they want to be on the right side of history, because they know how history will judge this debate."

This was somewhat seconded in an op-ed article by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim published on the Washington Post. Kim, who had stalled a 90 million loan to Uganda due to the anti-gay laws, wrote, "Widespread discrimination is also bad for economies. There is clear evidence that when societies enact laws that prevent productive people from fully participating in the workforce, economies suffer."

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Uganda, Russia, Ugandan anti-gay laws, Russia anti-gay laws, US, DOMA

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