Russia's policy on gay rights is already stuck in the last century, but this latest anti-gay initiative from Vladimir Putin is downright laughable. The Russian President wants to outlaw the use of all emojis depicting gay behavior, Dazed reports.
The "gay" emojis are considered a threat to minor's health and Russian officials believe it could cause them to "form disrespect for parents and other family members," according to Dazed. The Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has urged Young Guard, the youth division of Putin's political party United Russia, to look into the spread of these particular emojis on Russia's social media. Roskomnadzor believes that the cartoons are in breach of the country's ban on "gay propaganda" that Putin signed into effect in 2013.
Roskomnadzor is particularly concerned that the emojis will corrupt the youth and encourage minors to participate in "untraditional sexual relations," according to Dazed.
While surely one of the more worrying and disturbing, this is only the latest strange initiative to come out of Russia. The country has looked into implementing a ban on swearing and released a "safe selfie" guide in the past. Just yesterday, Russian lawmakers announced plans to ban Nike's gay pride collection.
