November 15, 2013

Dear President Putin:

Washington DC - Like many of our generation, we have applauded Russias 20year turn toward democracy, confident in the prospect it lays not only for closer
relations between our countries, but for the freer and more prosperous future that
the Russian people deserve. In that light, we write to express grave concern at
recent legislation signed by you into law, or otherwise under consideration in
the Duma that demonizes and discriminates against Russian citizens who are
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).

These laws are tearing apart the lives of Russian LGBT citizens and their
families. They also impact Russian and foreign citizens, organizations and
businesses that want the best for your country, and that are committed to building
partnerships that are in your interests.
The range of legislation to which we refer is broad; among other things, it restricts
public gatherings; classifies as foreign agents those who receive funding from
abroad; denies orphaned and abandoned children the opportunity to be brought
up in families by individuals with the commitment, the resources, and the love
needed to raise them; and makes it a crime to speak openly or provide
information about homosexuality. We are also extremely concerned about
pending legislation that threatens to remove children from same-sex parents
the homes theyve known, the families they love.
These discriminatory, anti-LGBT laws call into question the democratic path that
Russia ostensibly has chosen. They disregard the obligation carried by all
democratic societies to respect and protect minority populations of any kind. And
they deny not only the promise of equality under the law, but the fundamental
freedoms of speech, assembly, and association that are core to any democratic
system.
Some proponents of these laws have sought to justify them for the purpose of
protecting children. These ideas are based on false science, deliberately
erroneous claims, and clear bias. Homosexuality and pedophilia are not, in fact,

related. Modern science and the medical establishment consider homosexuality

as a statistically normal human sexual variation. Pedophilia, on the other hand, is
a crime, and is not a factor of ones sexual orientation.
We strongly support child protection legislation that penalizes inappropriate
sexual conduct with minors. However, such legislation cannot single out one
minority population, as Russias laws now do. By inaccurately placing pedophilia
at the door of LGBT citizens, Russias laws harm rather than protect LGBT youth,
and have a negative impact on broader non-discrimination efforts within society.
Further, these laws create a climate of fear and repression that leaves LGBT
children, and even those merely suspected of being so, vulnerable to physical
and mental abuse, while substantially diminishing their educational and
employment-related opportunities and achievements. In this manner, these laws
are harmful to children and society in equal measure. They also provoke
increased violence against LGBT Russian youth and adults, the rise of which
should be a matter of concern to you, as President, as it is to us.
To date, the media has viewed Russias repressive laws largely through the prism
of the upcoming Sochi Olympics. The reason for this is clear: the Olympic
Charter proclaims that any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a
person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise, is incompatible
with belonging to the Olympic Movement. Russias new laws squarely defy the
Charter; its role as host, while failing to amend or abrogate these laws, cheapens
Olympic ideals.
However, concern about Russias laws is not limited to their inconsistency with
Olympic principles nor, indeed, to the narrow question of how Russia will treat
LGBT foreigners who participate in or attend the Sochi Olympics. The
fundamental question raised by Russias anti-LGBT course is why Russia treats
its own LGBT citizens with such disregard for democratic principles and why
you and Russian legislators have chosen, as part of your legacy, to foster a
climate of hostility toward LGBT people that has made those citizens so
unwelcome on their own soil.
You have made public assurances that all visitors are welcome to Sochi,
regardless of sexual orientation. These assurances, however, cannot be taken at
face value without a more detailed understanding of how Russias anti-LGBT

laws apply to a range of specific questions. For instance:

Can Olympic athletes or spectators be arrested or otherwise sanctioned for
wearing Gay Pride or similarly themed clothing or accessories at the Games, or
clothing items/accessories containing an LGBT-related insignia?
Can these same athletes or spectators sport officially licensed rainbow pins or
other apparel from the 2012 London Summer Olympics?
Can athletes or spectators carry Gay Pride flags?
Should two individuals of the same sex either hold hands or kiss in public, would
that be seen as contravening Russian law?
What would happen should a person speak in favor of the equal treatment of
LGBT persons whether publicly or in what was intended to be a private
conversation?
Can a parent of an LGBT athlete Russian or foreign speak affirmatively of
his/her child, including with reference to that athletes sexual orientation or gender
identity, in pre- or post-competition interviews?
Can athletes or spectators distribute pamphlets concerning the human rights of
all individuals, including those in non-traditional sexual relationships, as a
reflection of both their beliefs and their rights to freedoms of opinion, speech and
expression?
Can media coverage of the Games include examination of Russias
discriminatory legal climate directed against LGBT people?
Might a reporter asking questions related to the law be accused of violating the
law?
Would the public dissemination of same-sex attraction (e.g., through a gay or
lesbian couple holding hands) by television, newspaper or internet potentially
subject the media outlet to legal response by Russian authorities?
Would capture and public dissemination of LGBT insignia by the media, including
the internet, in the course of reporting on the Games (or subsequently), subject
that outlet to legal response?
Are private sector companies free to include same-sex couples in their
advertising related to sponsorship of the Games? Are they permitted to include
pro-LGBT messages of solidarity in their advertising?
Would children who have been adopted by lesbian or gay individuals or couples
be allowed to enter the country?
Could a child be taken from a couple if that couple either was or appeared to be
gay or lesbian?

Is there a distinction in how any of these scenarios would be handled (a) within
the Olympic Village, (b) in the broader Olympic security zones in and around
Sochi, or (c) outside of those zones?
Would the response to any of these questions differ depending on the citizenship
of the individual(s)? Would foreign nationals be treated differently, inasmuch as
the law specifies different penalties for foreigners?
To be clear, these questions deserve response before the Sochi Olympics, so
that all of those who support the Olympics whether athletes, spectators,
sponsors, media, or prospective national delegation members can have
certainty as to how these laws might impact their participation, or indeed their
prospective travel to Sochi. Importantly, however, these questions must be
answered with respect not only to foreign visitors, but to Russias citizens as well.
They also must be answered not only with respect to the specific period
embraced by the Sochi Olympics, but thereafter.
We ask you, as President, to ensure that Russian officials clearly address, with a
sense of urgency, each of the scenarios noted above. But we also ask that you
take on the leadership role of pressing for these laws to be repealed in order that
LGBT citizens of your country can enjoy the same rights and expectations as any
of their heterosexual fellow citizens, and so as to rein in the hostility directed
against LGBT Russians that these laws have entailed.
Finally, we ask that you address these questions with a sense of urgency, not
only in view of the rapid approach of the Sochi Olympics, but with regard to the
distraction that these laws pose to our shared interest in a broad and stable
partnership between our countries.
Sincerely,
Mark Bromley
Council Chair
Julie Dorf
Senior Advisor
Michael Guest
Senior Advisor