Putin officially bans same-sex marriage and stops trans people adopting

The constitutional changes are based on "a belief in God"

Russia has now officially banned same-sex marriage after a number of amendments were made to the country's constitution this week. The constitution now says that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. The amendments also mean that trans people are no longer able to adopt. The constitution now mentions "a belief in God" as a core value. It's the latest worrying development for the LGBT community in Russia, a country in which homosexuality was illegal until 1993. Homophobia is rife in the nation and many choose to hide their sexuality. Russia received widespread criticism from across the world when it passed a law in 2013 forbidding "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relationships." The year before, the Moscow city government banned gay pride parades for the next 100 years. The constitutional changes have come into force after they were voted on in a referendum in July 2020, in which 77% of people voted in favour of the ban on same-sex marriage, along with the other amendments. Pyotr Tolstoy, a supporter of the amendments, told the Associated Press that Russ is a "stronghold for traditionalism" and that the amendments mean that Russia will not "repeat the mistakes that exist in the West." Another key law that was part of the raft of changes voted on in the referendum was one allowing Putin to serve for an extra two terms as leader. On Monday the Russian president officially signed off the changes, making them part of the Russian constitution. Putin was approaching the end of his six-year term in 2024, but could now potentially hold onto power until 2036. The Russian leader has said that he does not know whether he will stand in the 2024 election, but an election victory would be a formality if he did. Putin has been in power for more than two decades now, longer than any other Russian leader since Stalin.