A lesbian couple has wed in Russia by using a legal loophole to circumvent the country's ban on LGBT marriage, prompting outrage by a gay-bashing local lawmaker who threatened to get the marriage annulled.
The wedding was allowed to proceed because one of the brides who tied the knot at a registry office in St. Petersburg on Friday was born male. She is undergoing hormone therapy and identifies herself as transsexual, but her passport still identifies her as male, Russian media reported.
Municipal legislature deputy Vitaly Milonov, who is known for his strong opposition to LGBT rights, said he protested the "depravity" to the registry office, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.
"They approached the issue formally, looking at passports instead of people," he was quoted as saying. "I warned the director that this is criminal negligence. They should have called nurses from Kashchenko [psychiatric hospital] with straightjackets and put the newlyweds into separate wards instead of a marital bed."
He said he would seek to get the marriage annulled and demanded that St. Petersburg prosecutors intervene to protect millions of Russian families from having to suffer similar "horrible insults," Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.
Photos of the wedding posted by state-run broadcaster RT showed two young brides — whom Russian media identified as Irina Shumilova and Alyona Fursova — wearing white wedding gowns and smiling as they signed their marriage papers and posed for pictures together with friends and a cheerful-looking registry official.
One of the couple's bridesmaids, Marina Teodory, told the FlashNord news site that staff at the civil registry office "reacted tolerantly to the girls' wish" to get married.
Earlier this year, another marriage between two brides took place in Moscow — the country's first such known wedding. One of the brides, who wore floor-length gowns during the ceremony, was a man.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.