Just a few months ago Sasha Semanova and her fellow activists thought they had turned the corner in their fight for gay rights in Russia, but now they are facing an avalanche of proposed laws that they believe would give authorities legal backing to persecute them for their sexual orientation. “We had a feeling that everything was changing and that we are changing the society,” she told ABC News by phone from St. Petersburg, where she is part of one of Russia’s most active lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities. “Everything has changed,” she said. Earlier this year St. Petersburg passed what has been called a “gay gag rule” law, prohibiting homosexual “propaganda” around minors. Violators could face fines up to $16,700. Supporters say it is meant to protect children and defend what they call traditional Russian values. Semanova and other opponents see it as an excuse to harass the entire community. She and her friends collected thousands of signatures protesting the proposed law last year, which they believe was proposed by local members of President-elect Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in order to shore up conservative votes ahead of a contentious parliamentary election. Despite their efforts, the measure was signed into law in March. “It’s very worrying because all the work that the LGBT activists are doing can be subject to this law and everything we do is risky. Most of our activities are restricted already and we don’t know what the future has in store,” Semanova said. St. Petersburg is home to Russia’s most vibrant LGBT community, a rare thing in a country where homophobia remains prevalent. Homosexuality was outlawed during the Soviet Union and was only decriminalized by President Boris Yeltsin in 1993, though it remains highly taboo today. St. Petersburg was not the first region in Russia to pass such a law, others did so as early as 2008, but it opened the floodgates as other major regions, including Moscow and Siberia, have taken steps to approve similar measures. The State Duma, Russia’s parliament, is considering a similar law that would enforce it on a national level. Semanova says she believes the national law will pass there as well. The St. Petersburg law also prompted calls on pop superstar Madonna from the LGBT community to cancel her August concert there. The singer said she will go ahead with the concert, but will denounce the law from the stage. The lawmaker who proposed the legislation responded saying he wants to fine her under the new law if she does so. Despite the international support for her cause, Semanova says she feels momentum building against them. more-- http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/04/russians-facing-tidal-wave-of-proposed-anti-gay-laws/