“But I’ll tell you something unexpected. They too – these topics and these people – have the right to win, show and tell, because this is also part of society. This is also what people live by.”
proceeds to ban LGBTQ
Nope, it is meant as a way to label pro-Western LGBT organizations as extremist so they can be prosecuted for their propaganda. Homosexuality is still legal in Russia.
https://www.rt.com/russia/588339-russian-lgbt-ban-explained/
Legal experts appear to be split on the potential consequences of the Supreme Court ruling, with some believing it will have no impact on the lives of sexual minorities. The designation was not related to sexual orientation per se, but to actual extremists and a “hostile organization, using them as its agenda,” lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky told RIA Novosti.
“This decision will not affect people’s lives. LGBT people have never been persecuted in Russia on these grounds, and there is no indication that they will be persecuted,” Agranovsky stated.
A similar opinion was expressed by attorney Aleksey Mikhalchik in an interview with RAPSI, a news agency focused on legal and court news. He said the ruling was likely to affect those participating in extremism-related activities and self-identifying as a pro-LGBT activists. Still, one does not necessarily need to possess an “LGBT membership card” or be a member of any group to get into trouble with the law, he warned.
pro-Western LGBT organizations
That still raises immediate red flags since LGBT is pretty much associated the West in some circles. And the wording of the article might as well be disingenuous given that LGBTQ people will be falsely accused of being Western agents without any evidence.