Russia is taking its fight against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community to the next level by banning anyone who suffers from “disorders of sexual preference” from driving.
The new law that was reportedly signed on December 29 and published on January 4, lists a series of medical conditions like “pathological” gambling and compulsive stealing as a reason to disqualify people from driving a vehicle in Russia.
As reported on Radio Free Europe, it also includes a number of “gender identity disorders” and “disorders of sexual preference”, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO).
These include “transsexualism,” the “desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex,” and “dual-role transvestism,” or “wearing clothes of the opposite sex in order to experience temporarily membership of the opposite sex.”
The long list also contains other WHO-defined sexual conditions that could prevent Russians from getting driver’s licenses like “sado-masochism,” “fetishism,” “voyeurism,” “exhibitionism,” and “pedophilia.”
The BBC reported that the Russian government “is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents”.
The Moscow-based Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights called the order “immoral” and “discriminatory” against a wide range of people, though, the local Professional Drivers Union supported the move, with the body’s head Alexander Kotov, stating: “We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified.”
Shawn Gaylord of Human Rights First condemned the regulations:
“Banning people from driving based on their gender identity or expression is ridiculous and just another example of the Russian regime’s methodical rollback of basic human rights for its citizens,” said Gaylord. “Beyond the denial of basic freedoms, this provision may deter transgender people from seeking mental health services for fear of receiving a diagnosis that would strip them of their right to drive, and leaves the door open for increased harassment, persecution, and discrimination of transgender people by Russian authorities. We urge the United States to immediately condemn this provision and to press the Russian government to repeal this decision.”
If our Offbeat News section that’s bursting with Russian dashcam videos is anything to go by, we’ve yet to see any kind of accident attributed to sexual preferences… It’s just plainly absurd to even think about it. Alcohol consumption, severe weather conditions, the hazardous condition of the roads, people not keeping up with the maintenance of their cars, and the outright stupidity of certain drivers, top the list of factors that contribute to accidents.