Elton John hopes to take on Putin over Russian ban on gay propagandizing of youth
Musician and LGBT activist Sir Elton John says he wants a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to encourage him to reverse the country's "isolating and prejudiced" law banning homosexual propaganda directed at youth. Speaking with the BBC in Ukraine, where he met with business leaders and President Petro Poroshenko to discuss LGBT issues, John said he opposes a Russian law that bans "propaganda of nontraditional sexual practices." John also heavily criticized Putin's 2014 statement that homosexuals "can feel calm and at ease" as long as they leave children alone at last year's Winter Olympics. "Give me a break. You are president of Russia , and you go and say stupid things like that?" he asked. The law John criticized, which bans "propaganda of nontraditional sexual practices" and "homosexual behavior among minors," has become a rallying cry for LGBT activists who claim it encourages atta