- Joined
- Mar 26, 2014
The problem, as I stated, was that "propaganda" was not clearly defined and that anything perceived to be pro-gay (such as wearing multi-colored clothes that could be considered rainbow symbols) could have been subject to an athlete being arrested, detain, fined.
Note that the law doesn't make "propaganda of traditional sexual relations to minors" a crime (never mind that ANY sharing of such info with minors in inappropriate, except by parents & authorized professionals). It only targets "non-traditional." As such, it indeed is anti-gay.
As for gay athletes' safety: As you said, there indeed were publicized cases of court cases against those with "non-traditional" orientation. Since the law & the fines started in 2013 (the year leading up to Sochi), how could that NOT be viewed as a threat/warning to those planning to visit Russia?
It is all "could have"s. And of course, the power of these "could have"s depends solely on the media. Nothing happened in Sochi. The only reported case was of some Italian activist who tried to arrange some sort of protest and was detained for several hours. That's it. So it was much a do about nothing all the way through. There was political attack on Russia and LGBT was the most convenient vehicle as racism and women's oppression would be even more difficult to pursue.
Russia has the World Cup 2018. Why is there nothing like a pre Sochi hysteria about LGBT rights violation now? Because there appeared much "hotter" topics since then: "Russia as a threat to the world" and "Russia as the land of dopers". And in fact nothing changed in the overall LGBT situation, neither pre-Sochi nor now.