Selena Gomez former girlfriend of Justin Bieber was turned away by Russian government officials due to her stance on anti-gay laws. The Russian government officials denied her visa, which is believed to be linked to stricter transit laws for foreign artists based on their views. According to John Becker, a petition author of the LGBT blogger at Bilercio stated that, "They're afraid to have someone like Selena Gomez come in and potentially use her platform to advance LGBT rights." On a German cite titled Spiegel concert organizer Jewgeni Finkelschtejn stated that, "the new rules would harm the country tremendously." Russia has been in the spotlight with their anti-gay laws lately, especially with its proposed bill that could potentially remove children from their homes, simply because their parents are lesbian or gay. Earlier in August Russian officials announced that celebrities such as Madonna and Lady Gaga had violated their visas while on tour in the country last year. Russian officials even went as far as to say that they breached the country's "gay propaganda law." Recently Cher denied Russia after being asked to perform at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics this coming February. Elton John being a member of the gay community himself, said that it would not stop him from visiting the country, that he cannot leave the people alone without helping them. Elton John did not mention whether or not he had a visa at this time.
When reading this article one might take a stance either for gay rights or against them. When taking the stance for gay rights one might say that homosexuality is not caused by the way a child was reared by his or her parents, or by having sexual experiences with someone of the same sex when they were young. They might also say that being gay has nothing to do with mental illness or them being abnormal. Taking this sociological stance one might then further state that the laws against homosexuality are insane, not valid, and that artist should be able to support whomever they please. When someone is advocating against gay rights they might say that, yes, we should turn away celebrities that could impose propaganda on our citizens. That they could influence the people of Russia, and even make them think that being gay is ok. One might say that turning away people who support gay rights is doing the right thing when it comes to protecting Russian citizens.
Maria Shropshire
Soc-202-03
9/20/2013 9:36 am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/selena-gomez-russia-concerts-canceled-_n_3955167.html
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