Putin Welcomed with Rainbow Flags

Amsterdam’s city council greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s arrival this week with rainbow flags on every building in the city. The flags were also purposely placed around the city center to raise awareness across the globe. "We have a large gay community in Amsterdam and we want to make sure that in our city that everybody can live the way they want and be whoever they are and we want to make sure that everybody in the world knows that,” a deputy mayor told Euronews. The Russian parliament is debating a bill prohibiting “gay propaganda.” It will forbid PDA between same-sex partners, pride parades, protests, wearing or displaying the rainbow flag, among others. The law, if authorized by Putin, would fine or imprison offenders.