Pelosi Calls Out Putin Over Op-Ed Piece
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding LGBT rights after he made headlines on Thursday for his controversial New York Times op-ed piece, the Huffington Post reports.
While Pelosi said it was "great" Putin said that all people are created equal under God, she did point out Russia's highly controversial "homosexual propaganda" law, which Putin signed into law this summer.
"I hope it applies to gays and lesbians in Russia as well," Pelosi said during a Capitol Hill press conference, C-Span reports.
The former House Speaker later took to Twitter and said, "Hopefully, when Pres. #Putin says 'we must not forget that God created us equal' he includes gays and lesbians in Russia."
When Pelosi was asked to give her opinion about the entire op-ed, which focused on President Barack Obama's handling of Syria, the politician shrugged and said: "It is what it is."
"Vladimir Putin is not in a strong constitutional democracy where people have their say, so he comes here and has his say," she added. "But it has to have some fidelity to fact."
Gay rights supporters have sharply criticized Russia for passing the anti-gay measure, which makes it illegal to publicly show support for the LGBT community or equate same-sex relationships to heterosexual relationships. Those who break the law can be slammed with hefty fines and even face jail time. The issue has gained international attention since the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi, Russia.