Putin: America Is Worse On Gay Rights

Vladimir Putin today claimed that the United States treats gay people worse than Russia does because some states still have anti-sodomy laws on the books. From the poorly-written report by the official Russian news agency TASS:

"Russia recognizes and does not infringe on the rights of non-traditional sexual orientation,” he said. “It is a label (of a country violating rights of such people) attached to the Russian Federation by other countries, especially by those which have criminal responsibility for people of non-traditional sexual orientation,” the president said at a meeting with human rights activists. He said in the state of the nation address he mentioned the family is a clear priority in Russia. “This should not be considered as our intention to persecute people of whatever non-traditional orientation,” Putin said. He said among the countries which tried to apply the homophobia label to Russia was, among others, the US, where some states have criminal responsibility for homosexuality, though the law had been suspended by the court decision. “We do not have criminal responsibility of the kind,” he said.

Putin concluded: "We are not punishing anyone. But traditional family, healthy nation — those are our choices. One does not exclude the other, and one does not affect the other. I believe, a balanced approach like this is absolutely correct."

RELATED: Anti-sodomy laws have not yet been formally repealed in these states: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.