Russia says drivers must not have 'sex disorders'

[DavidDvorkin]

Source: BBC

Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences.

Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.

The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.

"Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30735673

---

Comrade Vlad presses on.

[Journeyman]

1. I find people prone to violence and irrational behavior more a threat on the road. . .

than the occasional exhibitionist or sexual voyeur. And unless your fetish involves car crashes, I can't see how it might impact me on the road.

Better that everyone's eyes be on the road as they drive and not on what happens later in the privacy of other's bedrooms.

[Kevin from WI]

2. How would they know?

Does Russia have camera's in every home to determine who is and is not acceptable to drive according to the government standards. Are they forcing people to identify sexual orientation or preferences with the government now? Putin is getting more and more clueless every day. Is he trying to out do the leader of North Korea? This is seriously messed up.

[pampango]

3. Russia's health minister has stated that gays have a mental illness. Will they be banned from

driving next?

That’s the motivation behind groups like Occupy Pedophilia, which lure in gay teens through social media in order to publicly humiliate them by beating them with sex toys or forcing them to drink urine. The guerrilla group claims that its ultimate goal is to “cure” gay people of their orientation—echoing the Russian health minister’s statement that homosexuality is often a mental illness. Concerned by the violence, one Russian citizen sent 70 appeals to law enforcement agencies, asking them to investigate the attacks. Every request was refused.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2014/01/30/gay_russia_under_putin_brutal_bloody_and_horrifying.html

[LiberalLovinLug]

4. Sounds like just another weapon in Putin's arsenal

Going back to pre-glasnost era where any activist or political foe can be harassed by simply diagnosing them as having a "mental disorder"

[JDDavis]

5. Russians often drive way too fast for driving conditions.

Do a search on Youtube for videos of Russian car crashes.

Russia has an insurance system that gives people big discounts if they have cameras in their cars, so they can prove an accident is not their fault. So there's literally thousands of hours of video out there with Russian drivers witnessing or being part of an accident.

It snows a lot in Russia in the winter, as most people are probably aware. It also rains a lot in some places any time of the year. Yet looking at some of these real-time videos, I would have to say too many people drive way too fast and take horrible risks when driving. Yes, even more than some US drivers do.

Here is a sample of those kinds of videos out there on Youtube:

This restriction on transgender and other folks is absolutely absurd.

[Bosonic]

6. Luckily some Kleptomaniacs already have chauffeurs

[jakeXT]

7. What if the violent furry fetishists are just passengers ?

[msongs]

8. too many road accidents? probably because of too many drunks driving, not sex related issues nt