Sochi 2014: Vladimir Luxuria arrested for holding ‘Gay is OK’ banner

Europe’s first openly transgender parliamentarian detained at Winter Olympics amid controversy surrounding gay rights. A prominent Italian gay rights campaigner and former MP has been arrested in Sochi while watching the Winter Olympics with a banner reading “Gay Is Ok” in Russian, two activists have said. Vladimir Luxuria, a television personality and actor who became Europe‘s first openly transgender parliamentarian

US: Olympian attacks Canadian ‘gay luge’ advert

US Olympic luger Christian Niccum has attacked a Canadian ad which mocks his sport for being ‘a little bit gay’. Niccum told Reuters: “It’s a gross misrepresentation of everything. All of it seems like a lie to me.” “I don’t think it’s fair for people that do have same sex attraction that they are using

Lithuanian Gay League hails president’s boycott of Sochi Olympics

The Lithuanian Gay League has applauded President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s decision not to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, expressing hope that the president would consistently defend human rights in Lithuania, as well. “The political step taken by President Grybauskaitė not to go to the Olympic Games in Russia gives us hope that the Head

Gay Russian protester arrested for unfurling rainbow flag at Olympic torch relay

Pavel Lebedev, of Voronezh, which is 560 miles north of Sochi, unfurled the rainbow flag as the torch passed through his hometown. The Sochi Winter Olympics will begin on 7 February and have already caused an international outcry as Russian President Vladimir Putin in June signed a bill into law banning the “promotion of non-traditional

Putin confirms that limited protest zones will be set up at Sochi

Russian authorities have confirmed that special protest zones will be set up at the Sochi Winter Olympics. In the face of heavy criticism of Russia’s anti-gay law, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach sought to diffuse the situation with an announcement in December. This followed a decree, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in August,

President Obama sending lesbian sports icon Billie Jean King to Olympics in Sochi

Billie Jean King, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, is part of the delegation that will be representing the US at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. King, 70, is not only one of the world’s most famous athletes, she’s also one of the world’s most famous lesbians and a tireless advocate

2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia: LGBT community protests in the world

Protests Against Russian and Its Olympics Opening Dialogues About Its LGBT Community After many years of protesting by the small but active lgbtq activist community, the international community is finally taking notice of human rights abuses and homophobic laws and prejudices rampant in the chilly country. A lot of it has to do with momentum