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Twenty gay activists have been detained by police in Moscow for a "kissing protest", as the Russian parliament gave preliminary approval to a controversial bill that would outlaw "homosexual propaganda".
The protesters were assaulted with rotten eggs by Orthodox Christian activists and skinheads, and then dragged away by police, who confirmed that 20 people had been detained.
The Duma passed the bill in the first of three readings by 388 votes to one, and applause rippled through the chamber.
"We live in Russia, not Sodom and Gomorrah," United Russia deputy Dmitry Sablin said before the vote.
The law targets those who promote homosexuality to children, and is designed to bolster family values, according to the MPs who have proposed it. (© Independent News Service)
Irish Independent
