Last June, a law passed in Russia made gay propaganda illegal, even though homosexuality has been legal in Russia since 1993. President Vladimir Putin signed the anti-gay propaganda bill. on June 30, 2013 and Russia's anti-gay propaganda law prohibits all Russian gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people from publicly discussing or promoting their sexuality. The anti-gay propaganda law attempts to protect Russian youth from any pro-gay speech, symbols or demonstrations in all public spaces as well as in any form of media in Russia. The law is similar to U.S. laws that do their best to prevent minors from accessing R-rated movies or pornography, even though both are legal for consenting adults. The only difference is that this law only targets a minority group and does its best to silence them. Russia's anti-gay propaganda law should be repealed as it is a step in the wrong direction for Russia. Russia, with a population of 140 million, is the world's largest user of intravenous drugs and one of the fastest growing countries for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ) rates. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that ultimately leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS, an incurable and fatal disease, can be spread through sharing needles during intravenous drug use or certain sexual activities. HIV is particularly prevalent in the gay community because anal sex is the easiest way to transmit HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. The European AIDS Society strongly opposes the anti-gay propaganda law because it could be used to ban HIV prevention and treatment campaigns targeting Russia's gay community. The co-chair of the 14th European AIDS Conference, Prof...... middle of article ......ogy.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html>.Hurley, Wes. “Stranger in my country – Realizing I was gay in Russia felt like being diagnosed with a terminal illness.” Seattle Gay News. August 2, 2013: Volume 41, Number 31. Web. December 4, 2013. sgnnews41_31/page5.cfm>. Queens, Bryan. “Russian homophobia sparks global controversy and difficult decisions in preparation for the Olympics.” Emory Journal of International Affairs. Emory University, October 23, 2013. Web. December 1, 2013. Homophobia-sparks-a-global-controversy-and-difficult-decisions-in-preparation-for-the-Olympic-games/>. Wong, Curtis M. "Russia to debate removing children from gay parents." Huffingtonpost.com. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., October 9, 2013. Web. December 1 2013. .