Russian laws cause a problem for gay Olympians
Graphic by Emily Lodahl.
December 13, 2013
The Winter Olympics are coming up quickly in Russia, just next year. As people prepare for the thrilling events during this time, they also wonder about gay Olympians planning to compete. This is due to the signing of a bill on June 30 of this year, banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations.” Although this law is in place, gay Olympians should be treated just as any other Olympian.
Gay rights have been a major discussion topic among people all around the world. Laws have been passed to allow more rights and to put restraints on them, but either way everyone is aware. President Putin passed the law in Russia banning it, which has caused a major strife in what will happen to gay Olympians this winter.
It seems that no matter what laws have been passed, in an interview with the Huffington Post President Putin vowed that they “will do everything to make sure that athletes, fans and guests feel comfortable at the Olympic Games regardless of their ethnicity, race or sexual orientation.”
There is no reason that anyone should be discriminated on at any point, but with the Olympics specifically, it is a game where everyone is there together and no one should be left out of that participation because of who they are.
“Russia is trying very hard to make discrimination look respectable by calling it `tradition,’ but whatever term is used in the bill, it remains discrimination and a violation of the basic human rights of LGBT people,” Graeme Reid, the LGBT rights program director at Human Rights Watch in an article by the Huffington Post.
While Russia has put this law in place, it is not stopping anyone from doing what they can to not let it affect the Olympic Games. People such as the Reid and The International Olympics Committee (IOC) are speaking of how they feel the situation should be handled.
The IOC released a statement to the Gay Star News which said they “would like to reiterate our long commitment to non-discrimination against those taking part in the Olympic Games, the IOC is an open organization and athletes of all orientations will be welcome at the Games.”
On the other hand, seeing that Russia has made this law, it is quite controversial on whether or not it should be broken. Laws are laws, and saying that it makes sense as to why there would be thought of discrimination against gay Olympians. Either way, Russia agreed to host the Winter Olympics before this law was ever passed.
No one should be treated differently because of the person they are. Whether it is the Olympics or simply daily life, everyone should be accepted for who they are and not have to worry about being discriminated against for being themselves or doing what they love, such as playing a taking part in the Olympics.
Ross Stickler • Jan 12, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Very well written article. There is a lot of background research on this piece that adds to the flow of the article. I would like to point out that the topic of the graphic does not match with the topic of the article. Great links too; they are informative and help the reader understand the article more clearly.
Ross Stickler • Jan 12, 2014 at 8:20 pm
Very well written article. There is a lot of background research on this piece that adds to the flow of the article. I would like to point out that the topic of the graphic does not match with the topic of the article.
Anna Kaul • Jan 9, 2014 at 11:18 pm
This article was very well-researched with a lot of background information and facts. I clicked on it because I just watched a documentary about the Sochi Winter Olympics and was interested in hearing an opinion about one of the most controversial aspects of it. I though the article had great secondary information and was well -developed in the commentary-fact style. It had a powerful opinion and was a very convincing editorial.