83 Members Of Congress Petition John Kerry To Protect Gay Athletes At Olympics

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has written a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry which demands protections for LGBT athletes at the Sochi Olympics. The letter was co-signed by 83 members of the U.S. House.  The letter closes:

We applaud the State Department’s commitment to ensuring that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons abroad, and the actions your agency has already taken to communicate concerns about the overall direction on LGBT rights in Russia directly to the Russian government. In light of the importance of U.S. leadership on LGBT issues, and the quickly-approaching Sochi Games, we urge the State Department to determine the appropriate course of action to assure the safety and well being of LGBT and LGBT— supporting individuals involved in or attending the 2014 Sochi Olympics and Paralympics. We look forward to hearing from you regarding what efforts have been undertaken, especially efforts undertaken in coordination with other foreign governments, and are committed to working together with you on this issue.

The full list of names on the letter is here.

RELATED: Despite claims to the contrary by the IOC, last week Russian officials said that both athletes and attendees of the Sochi Olympics will indeed to be subject to arrest under Russia's "homosexual propaganda" ban.