First, Putin Came For The Gays

Jamie Kirchick, like Glenn Beck, wants to widen the debate over “Russia’s anti-gay crusade scapegoating a vulnerable minority”:

Nearly every mention of the legislation passed last summer refers to it as “anti-gay.” Yet the words “gay” or “homosexual” do not appear anywhere in the law’s text. While it’s true that the law’s intention is to limit positive (or even neutral) discussion of same-sex relations, the real problem is that it constitutes an assault on the fundamental free speech rights of all Russians, not just gay ones. Rather than highlight the anti-gay nature of the law, activists in the West would do far better to criticize it first and foremost as a violation of freedom of expression. In this way, they can appeal to the vast majority of Russian citizens who, as polls make clear, are not nearly as approving of homosexuality as Westerners.

The case to be made to these Russians is that, while they may find homosexuality distasteful and scorn gay people as neighbors (don’t even think about proposing equal marriage rights), they ought to be able to discuss these matters in an atmosphere of openness, free from the Soviet-era fear that they could be jailed for expressing an unpopular opinion. For if the Kremlin can ban positive references to homosexuality today, it can just as easily ban negative references to Putin tomorrow.