Gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans has asked President Barack
Obama for details on how the government plans to keep gay athletes
and guests safe during next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi.
The request comes after the Russian Interior Ministry confirmed
that a recently approved law outlawing “gay propaganda” to minors
would be enforced in Sochi.
(Related: Russia's
Interior Ministry: Anti-gay law will be in effect during Sochi
Olympic Games.)
“The Russian government's statement that no one will be
discriminated at the Winter Olympics is nothing more than a hollow
assurance from a governmental body that is so anti-gay it has
established a law that allows gays – and gay allies – to be
harassed, verbally and physically assaulted, and jailed,” Gregory
T. Angelo, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, said in a
statement.
“President Obama and the State Department need to present a
defined plan that guarantees the safety of our nation's Olympic
competitors,” he said, adding that he wants the Obama
administration to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
to never put “gay athletes of the world in a situation where their
safety is in question ever again.”
(Related: Obama:
Not appropriate to boycott Olympics over Russian anti-gay law.)