A new Russian adoption ban instituted this week prohibits gay couples from foreign countries — and singles from places where same-sex marriage is legal — from adopting Russian children.
The decree was signed Monday by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, and reportedly went into effect Wednesday, according to TV network Russia Today.
The decree simply codifies the already commonplace practice of
not allowing gay couples to adopt Russian children, CNN noted, and affects more than a dozen countries.
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Adoptions to the U.S. were already banned, thanks to a
Russian bill passed more than a year ago by President Vladimir Putin. That move was reportedly in response to American human-rights sanctions.
The decree also follows up on last summer's anti-gay law,
which bans gay propaganda and criminalizes public displays of "nontraditional sexual relationships."
Russia's anti-gay laws and adoption ban have been in the spotlight in recent months as the Sochi Winter Olympics approached. Putin insisted, though, that Russia would not discriminate against openly gay Olympic athletes.
"We don't outlaw anything and don't nab anyone," he said on a visit to Sochi weeks before the Olympics. "That's why you can feel safe and free here," he added, "but please leave our children in peace."
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