September 10, 2013
Russian Journalist Promises to Out Closeted Lawmakers
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
An LGBT journalist has promised to take drastic measures if a new anti-gay legislation in Russia moves forward.
According to The New Civil Rights Movement, Elena Kostyuchenko, who writes for the Novaya Gazeta, promised on Twitter she will start outing closeted members of parliament who voted in favor of the country's "homosexual propaganda" law, and those who vote for a proposed law that would remove children from their gay parents.
Kostyuchenko said publishing the private information of Russian legislators is like a "nuclear bomb" that should only be used as a "last resort," but given the new anti-gay bill recently proposed, she said that "such a time has come."
Russia's current anti-gay law prohibits the public display of homosexuality, as well as the teaching of anything LGBT-related to a minor. If passed, the new bill would deny gay parents custody over their children.
Kostyuchenko promised she will publish her report outing closeted parliamentarians on the day the bill gets its first reading in the State Duma, reports Gay Russia.
She added the only way for closeted politicians to be spared is to vote against the custody bill.
"Others will disclosed," she tweeted on Sept. 5. "This is a warning. They want to destroy our life, and we will destroy them."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
