Gay Rights At Center Stage In Battle Over Moldova Antidiscrimination Bill

repost from http://www.rferl.org | By Mircea Ticudean, Robert Coalson

An antidiscrimination bill in Moldova has become a bone of contention between religious conservatives and gay-rights activists. And the bill’s opponents have brought in some controversial figures from the U.S. religious right to bolster their arguments.

When the Moldovan government submitted a draft antidiscrimination law to parliament last month, conservative Orthodox Christian forces in the country treated it as a call to battle.

And that call was heeded by U.S. pastor and lawyer Scott Lively, who traveled to Chisinau to warn the country against adopting any measure that would bar discrimination against homosexuals.

The bill outlaws discrimination against anyone on the basis of religion, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, color, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, political opinion, or social status. It was proposed as part of Moldova’s effort to gain an association agreement with the European Union. Continue reading