Russia unveils ‘straight’ flag, internet responds

Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party has unveiled a 'straight flag' in an effort to counteract the rainbow flag used worldwide as symbol of gay pride and LGBT rights.

It was unveiled on the annual Day of Family, Love and Fidelity. The party says the flag is intended to honour the nuclear family and traditional Russian values.

The flag which has its own hashtag #realfamily in Russian features a father, a mother and three children. The Deputy leader of the Moscow branch of United Russia Aleksey Lisovenko told Izvestia newspaper:

“This is our answer to same sex marriages, this mockery of the very concept of family. We must prevent gay fever in our country and support traditional values."

Twitter users responded accordingly.

Pride symbol controversy

In recent weeks the rainbow flag has dominated the internet in the wake of the vote in the US to approve same-sex marriage.

But the ruling also courted controversy online after a photo by an artist depicting the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising with the gay pride symbol circulated on social media.

The photo which was taken more than a decade ago was re-published on social media following the Supreme Court's ruling on gay marriage. It spawned a backlash against artist Ed Freeman and even a death threat.

In another incident which grabbed the internet's attention, a 7-year-old girl confronted a hate preacher at an Ohio festival with a pro-LGBT flag.

Source: euronews