NBCNEWS: Russian lawmakers have proposed extending a ban on the promotion of "non-traditional" sexual relationships to minors to include adults as well, a senior legislator said on Monday.

Russia's existing "gay propaganda" law, passed in 2013, has been used to stop gay pride marches and detain gay rights activists.

Authorities say they are defending morality in the face of what they argue are un-Russian liberal values promoted by the West, but human rights activists say the law has been broadly applied to intimidate Russia's LGBTQ community.

Parliamentary Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said last week that since Russia had quit the Council of Europe human rights watchdog after sending troops into Ukraine, it would now be able to ban the promotion of "non-traditional values." (To read the full article, Click Here.)