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Russian Edvard Murzin is ready to get married to another man, but Murzin’s not gay— he’s a politician. Muzin is a deputy in the Bashkortostan legislature in central Russia, and he plans to head to Moscow to force authorities to marry him to Russian gay activist Eduard Mishin.

The effort is designed to promote the rights of gay people in Russia. The local archbishop has condemned the action saying that Murzin is “a devil’s advocate” who’s encouraging “spiritual vices.” Murzin has been campaigning for gay marriage for about a year, but so far he hasn’t been able to get any legislation passed.

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from (where else?) queerday.com

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“Some 5 to 10 percent of Russians are homosexual,” insists Edvard Murzin. “In addition to being neglected by nature, they also suffer from their rights being infringed upon. If God saw those people he would surely say: ’Go ahead, guys, continue what you’ve started!’.”

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On the other, he is clearly a serious democrat.

quote:

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RUSSIA TO BAN HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES?

MOSCOW - The federal Supreme Court refused to amend Russia's Family Code and so authorize homosexual marriages, a court spokesman has announced. The issue arose with a complaint by one Edward Murzin. He is member of the State Assembly-republican legislature of Bashkortostan, autonomy in the south foothills of the Urals (Ufa, capital).

The plaintiff demanded Family Code clauses 1 and 12 amended. As he sees it, the code, as recently passed by the State Duma-the federal parliament's lower house, clashes with the federal Constitution and the European human rights convention through a homosexual marriage ban, our informant went on.

Amending the acting legislation is outside Supreme Court competence. That was why it dismissed the complaint, he explained.

Mr. Murzin filed a lawsuit with Moscow's Ostankino district court, January 31, after the Butyrsky registry office refused to register his marriage with Eduard Mishin, chief editor of the "Queer", a glossy homosexual magazine.

The plaintiff is determined to go on to the European rights court in Strasbourg with his case, he previously said. Meanwhile, he has not made a public reply to the Supreme Court verdict.

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Have I ever mentioned yet how deeply I respect Yabloko?

They're the only mainstream Russian party that's not Putinista, Stalinist, conservative, or Neo-Nazi.

[ 15 February 2005: Message edited by: NDP Newbie ]