Russian lawmaker proposes bill that would deny gay parents custody over children

MOSCOW – A Russian lawmaker has proposed a bill that would deny gay parents custody over their children.

The draft bill, published on parliament’s website on Thursday, would make the “fact of nontraditional sexual orientation” a basis for denying custody. Other grounds include alcoholism, drug use, and abuse.

The proposal comes in the wake of a bill banning homosexual “propaganda” among minors. Authors of the bill have justified it as a measure aimed at protecting children, and not suppressing the LGBT community.

Alexei Zhuravlev, the author of the bill, referred to the earlier law and said that homosexual “propaganda” had to be banned not only in the public space “but also in the family.”