BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – A St Petersburg court says the city’s use of a gay propaganda law to ban queer activists from staging rallies for the March 7 Day of Silence and the May 17 International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia was unlawful, according to a Gay Star News report. 
A Smolninsky district court judge ruled May 31 that authorities were not in a position to determine if the rallies — even before they had taken place — would lead to homosexual propaganda. The judge also found there was no authority to deny a public rally under federal law, the report notes.
The judgment does not mean future rallies will be approved by city authorities.
Queer activists and their allies are waiting to see whether a federal version of the propaganda laws enacted in four Russian cities will be implemented across the country. Parliamentary debate over such a measure is scheduled for this month.
Landing image source: ITAR-TASS
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