Madonna broke a St. Petersburg law on
Thursday night when she spoke out in favor of gay rights, a municipal
lawmaker claims.
“We want to fight for the right to be
free,” Madonna told the audience, most of whom were wearing pink
wristbands distributed at the door. She urged them to “show your
love and appreciation to the gay community.”
“Do we live in fear?” Madonna asked
the audience, who replied: “No!”
St. Petersburg Assemblymember Vladimir
Milonov told Russia's Interfax
news agency that either the pop star or concert organizers
will be fined for violating the city's law which criminalizes “public
actions aimed at propaganda of pederasty, lesbianism, bisexuality and
transgenderism among minors.”
Milonov, who sponsored the law, stated
that there were children as young as 12 present at the concert.
“Madonna or the organizers need to be
brought to justice,” Milonov said.
According to Reuters, 74 people have
been fined for violating the law since it went into effect in March.