Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, has endorsed
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni's idea of nations waving
Gay Pride flags during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in
Sochi, Russia.
Appearing on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Schumer said that he did
not support boycotting the games to protest a recently approved
controversial law which prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda”
to minors. On Monday, Russia
confirmed that the law would be enforced at Sochi.
“That'd be pretty embarrassing for [Russian President Vladimir]
Putin,” Schumer said. “Let our athletes participate but still
make a stand.”
Bruni
wrote: “Imagine rainbow flags or comparable symbols not just in
the American delegation but in the British, French, Argentine and
South African ones. Imagine what that would say and how that would
feel to a 14-year-old girl watching from rural Oklahoma, where she
worries hourly about her attraction to other girls and its impact on
her future. Or to a 35-year-old gay man in one of the many African
countries where homosexual acts are punishable with lengthy prison
sentences or even death. Or to a lesbian or gay Russian of any age.”