Before the Stonewall in Ukraine

[MadelineB]

Warren J. Blumenfeld
Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Iowa State University

Before the Stonewall in Ukraine
Posted: 07/05/2012 10:07 am

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-j-blumenfeld/the-stonewall-in-ukraine_b_1645716.html?utm_hp_ref=transgender

"We are still at the pre-Stonewall level!" exclaimed a Ukrainian LGBT rights activist in Kiev on June 22.

As amazing and inspiring as Pride events have become over the years, they do not yet extend universally, especially to certain regions and entire countries in Eastern Europe.

Elected officials in Ukraine, as well as in several areas of the current Russian Federation, Lithuania, Moldova, and Hungary have either passed or are in the process of shepherding through the legislative pipelines a number of bills (the so-called "Anti-Gay Propaganda" laws and draft laws) that further restrict human rights of LGBT people and ban informational efforts to educate and raise LGBT visibility and awareness.