Russian lawmakers weigh bill banning gender transitioning procedures

Russian lawmakers gave initial approval on Wednesday to a bill that would outlaw gender transitioning procedures in yet another blow to the country's beleaguered LGBTQ+ community.

Senior lawmaker Pyotr Tolstoy, who is among the bill's sponsors, has said it is intended to protect Russia with its cultural and family values and traditions and to stop the infiltration of the Western anti-family ideology.

Russia's LGBTQ+ community has been under growing pressure for a decade as President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church embarked on a campaign to preserve what they deem the country's traditional values.

The bill bans any medical interventions aimed at changing the sex of a person, as well as changing one's gender in official documents and public records.

Russian transgender people and LGBTQ+ rights advocates contacted by The Associated Press described the measure as a grim development.

We knew that they didn't like us here, but to go absolutely against human rights, agains