LGBT Rights Group Challenges St. Petersburg "Propaganda" Law

The law banning so-called gay propaganda in St. Petersburg, Russia, has been challenged in the city’s court. The St. Petersburg–based LGBT advocacy group Coming Out says it filed a challenge to the law Monday on constitutional grounds.

The challenge cites the vagueness of the terms “propaganda,” “bisexualism,” “transgenderism,” and “traditional and nontraditional family relationships.” Not defining these terms opens up the law to extraordinarily broad interpretation, it argues. So broad in fact, that the organization points out that technically even mentioning the existence of homosexuality could result in a fine of up to $16,000 for individuals.