Russia has imposed a bizarre new law that bars transsexual and transgender people from obtaining driving licenses. The Russian now also ban people found to have proclivities toward fetishism, exhibitionism, pathological gambling, compulsive stealing, and voyeurism as “mental disorders” incompatible with driving.
The Putin government has been widely denounced for its crackdown on homosexual rights as well as an array of other rights, including free speech.
There remains civil libertarians, lawyers, and doctors who actively right for civil liberties and these groups have denounced this latest abuse.
However, Alexander Kotov, head of the Professional Drivers Union, stood squarely in favor of arbitrary discrimination, insisting that “We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified.” No one has explained why a transsexual would be more inclined to commit accidents than these drivers who presumably have the requisite gender clarity:
Source: BBC
The further a government gets from its duty to secure the inalienable rights of its citizens, the more absurd the laws need to become.
Putin’s popularity has been because of a good oil economy. His numbers will plummet soon, just as the price of oil has.
Karen, 25% of all Russian men die before the age of 55! That’s like a 3rd world country 100 years ago! Vodka is the primary reason.
I wonder if the Russian government is looking for a new scapegoat. Though President Putin’s popularity seems strong domestically from this outside observer.
Sure, all those deaths on the road in Russia must be from those with fetishes, and not all the drunk drivers and road rage. I worry about the LGBT community over there, because this is likely the beginning of a ramp up.
Putin is not a champion of human rights, or respecting his county’s boundaries. He intends to restore the USSR to its former glory. Obama can’t handle him. A reset button would not go over well, either.
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/religious-right-cheers-vladimir-putin-anti-lgbt-violence-russia-surges
Religious Right cheers Vladimir Putin’s anti gay agenda.
Scott Lively, homophobic American fundamentalist pastor paid a visit to Putin. He didn’t just limit his anti gay influence in Africa. This guy has made the rounds and influenced heads of state.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/10/scott-lively-massachusetts-governor-sodom-russia
Are dashcams required in Russia? I’ve always suspected, but never confirmed through my own research, that property and casualty insurers probably lobbied for speed limits, drunk driving laws, etc. in the U.S. I can imagine insurers pushing for mandatory dashcams to ensure liability for accidents is properly assigned. Wonder if that’s already the case in Russia?
The Russian governments position on this is meritless. this is what can happen when politicians are not restrained.
I’m surprised they didn’t ban Asian drivers.
Who are the people who work for the “government” which so many of you loathe? They are God-fearing, flag pin wearing American citizens. Perhaps more devoted to this country than those of you who vilify them.
Ooops hit publish too soon
The excuse of mental illness or mental health as an excuse to deny people rights or to incarcerate them is alive and growing in the United States as well.
As evidenced here on this very blog, some have advocated that in order to exercise our 2nd amendment rights that everyone should have to be certified mentally well enough to own a weapon. Guess who gets to decide who is mentally fit or not. The government who has a vested interest in suppressing certain groups.
It has been proposed that those who are not convinced that Al Gore is the phrophet of Global Warming or who are not buying the hype should be placed in concentration camps or mental institutions…..until they submit to “right” thinking.
Sound familiar? Gulags and politically correct thinking.
Those who advocate for those types of things need to be very very careful about what they are espousing. They will rue the day when “they” are not the politicaly correct ones and may be subject to being a dissident worth taking care of and denied their rights (at best) or incarcerated or just plain eliminated (at worst0>
I don’t care how much I disagree with a person’s beliefs, THIS is not a world that I wish to live in…..and you shouldn’t either.
The Soviets……. have always liked using mental health to take care of their dissidents.
Bonkers. I could see the reasoning if there was a driving ban on certain categories of criminals – robbers, burglars, paedophiles, sexual predators, boy racers, and so on. Are politicians insane?
Living as I do in Chisinau, Moldova, I can attest to the amount of drinking in this neck of the woods. Vodka is religion- they both mollify the masses.
Jeff Silberman – if by mollify you mean make comatose, then I agree.
There are so many drunks on the road in Russia they’ve just given up on them. Go after transgenders now, that’ll do it.
The Soviets (and the Soviets are baaaaack) have always liked using mental health to take care of their dissidents. Putin is old school KGB.
Substance abuse is much higher among LGBT’s, but statistics also indicate that men have a higher incidence of injuries from traffic accidents than women. Do you think maybe they should let only women drive?
It would be interesting to know how they deal with driving and vodka, or driving while hunting tigers, or driving without a shirt…..