Russia set to pass bill banning gender-affirming care. It's even worse than Florida's
Vladimir Putin has written the staff playbook for Republican lawmakers when it comes to restricting LGBTQ+ rights.
On Wednesday, Russia’s State Duma passed the first reading of an anti-trans bill to ban legal and surgical gender changes. All 365 deputies present at the meeting supported the bill. The bill is expected to easily pass the required second and third reading in the Duma, as well as a single reading in the upper-house Federation Council. Then Putin will be able to sign the bill into law.
Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a package of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that included a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. A federal judge in Florida temporarily blocked the ban from going into effect in a narrow ruling allowing three transgender children to continue receiving puberty blockers. Elsewhere, at least 19 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming treatment for minors.
The anti-trans law before the Russian parliament goes even further than the laws enacted in Florida and other Republican-controlled states: It would cover adults as well as minors.
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