(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130125-russia-kiss-in-428p.photoblog600.jpg)Yuri Kochetkov / EPARussian Interior Ministry officers detain two gay rights activists during an unsanctioned protest in front of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, in Moscow on Friday.By Gabriela Baczynska and Alissa de Carbonnel, ReutersRussia's parliament backed a draft law on Friday banning "homointercourseual propaganda," in what critics see as an attempt to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin in the country's largely conservative society.
Only one deputy in the State Duma lower house voted against the bill, but passions spilled over outside the chamber, where 20 people were detained after scuffles between Russian Orthodox Christians and gay activists who staged a "kiss-in" protest.
"We live in Russia, not Sodom and Gomorrah," United Russia deputy Dmitry Sablin said before the 388-1 vote in the 450-seat chamber. "Russia is a thousands-years-old country founded on its own traditional values - the protection of which is dearer to me than even oil and gas."
NBCNews