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(CNN) --
Russian lawmakers have agreed to toughen the country's discriminatory law against so-called homosexual "propaganda," to ban the promotion or "praising" of same-sex relationships or the public suggestion that they are "normal" relationships.
Moscow's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, unanimously approved amendments to strengthen the law against "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations," making such propaganda illegal among Russians of all ages, according to the parliament's official website. .
The original version of the law adopted in 2013 prohibited "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among minors.
“Our bill is not an act of censorship.
We are only saying that propaganda should be prohibited, that is, positive promotion, praise, saying that this is normal and maybe even better than traditional relations,” said the head of the State Duma Information Policy Committee Alexander Khinshtein. during the parliamentary session.
session.
The proposed measure still needs to be approved by the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, and signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin to take effect.
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Under the bill, "propaganda of non-traditional relationships" is a crime subject to a fine of up to 400,000 rubles ($6,500) for individuals and up to 5 million rubles ($81,400) for legal entities.
Foreigners could face up to 15 days in jail or deportation for breaking the law, according to the parliament's website.
Putin has repeatedly cracked down on same-sex relationships in an effort to uphold what his regime considers traditional family values.
In a speech in Moscow on Thursday, Putin attacked Western culture, telling a crowd: "The West can do what it wants with gay parades, but it shouldn't dictate the same rules for Russia."
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2017 that Russia's so-called "gay propaganda law" is discriminatory, promotes homophobia and violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
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The court concluded that the law "did not serve any legitimate public interest," rejecting suggestions that public discussion of LGBT issues could influence children to become homosexual or threaten public morals.
Above all, by adopting such laws, the court found that the authorities had reinforced stigma and prejudice and encouraged homophobia, which was incompatible with the values of equality, pluralism and tolerance of a democratic society. court.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but homophobia and discrimination still abound.
The country is ranked 46th out of 49 European countries for LGBTQ+ inclusion by watchdog ILGA-Europe.
Vladimir Putin