LGBTQ Rights Including Marriage in Ukraine and Rusia

 

The Supreme Court of Ukraine (Photo courtesy of the court’s website)

COLIN STEWART

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran/76crimes

Ukraine Supreme Court confirms legality of same-sex marriage

Ukraine’s supreme court dismissed an appeal of a lower court decision that for the first time recognized a same-sex couple as a family. The couple had been married in the United States. Although the Constitution of Ukraine defines marriage as between “a woman and a man”, the supreme court rejected an appeal from a conservative group that sought to overturn the lower court ruling.

A proposed civil union bill has been pending in parliament since 2023.

In St. Petersburg in 2018, a young participant at Coming Out’s rally for LGBT rights holds a sign that states “Let’s Live in Peace.” (Photo courtesy of Coming Out)

Russian court bans the Coming Out group as ‘extremist.’

The Associated Press reported: The city court in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 3 designated a prominent LGBTQ+ rights group Coming Out as an extremist organization, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities did not reveal any details of the lawsuit filed last month by Russia’s Justice Ministry and classified as secret.

The group, which now operates from abroad, said it will continue to help LGBTQ+ people in Russia and beyond, and fight for their rights despite the ruling.

Coming Out is the first LGBTQ+ rights group to be designated since the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that effectively banned any LGBTQ+ activism. Similar lawsuits are pending against two other LGBTQ+ rights groups, in St. Petersburg and the Samara region .

In November 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court declared what the government called “the international LGBT movement” to be an extremist organization, exposing anyone involved with that community to prosecution and potential imprisonment.