From AllOut – the LGBT global campaigning organisation.
February 20, 2012. In just one week the city of Saint Petersburg could pass an outrageous bill that will make it a crime to read, write, speak or meet to discuss anything considered “Gay”.
Over the past few months 270,000 people have joined All Out in condemning the bill, and thousands of us have picked up the phone to call our foreign offices, pushing governments around the world to issue official condemnations. But traditional diplomacy has reached its limits, so now we’re going to hit them where it counts to push this bill off the agenda : their pocketbook.
The Governor of Saint Petersburg has the power to veto this bill. And we know he doesn’t want his city – known around the world as Russia’s cosmopolitan “window to the west” – in the middle of a storm of bad publicity.
Sign this urgent letter to the Governor telling him in no uncertain terms: Pass this bill, I won’t go there. We’ll be delivering your letters to Russian consulates around the world in a global day of action next week
TO: The Governor of Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation.
As the top custodian of Saint Petersburg, city of Tchaikovsky and Russia’s “window to the west,” we call on you to veto this draconian bill that could silence the speech of ALL Russians.
Russia is a strong, independent country – but we all live in a globalized world. If this bill is signed in to law, I will not and cannot travel to Saint Petersburg, and will urge all of my friends and acquaintances to follow suit.
Governor Poltavchenko – Don’t Go There.