Putin proposes to enshrine God, heterosexual marriage in constitution

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted to parliament a number of new constitutional changes, including amendments that mention God and stipulate that marriage is a union of a man and woman.

Putin in January unleashed a political storm by proposing an overhaul of the constitution, the first changes to the basic law since 1993.Last month the Russian parliament´s lower house unanimously approved the constitutional reform bill in a first reading after less than two hours of debate.

Ahead of a second and key reading set for next week, Putin submitted 24 pages worth of amendments, said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.“The president´s amendments are the result of his dialogue with representatives of all factions (and) civil society,” he said in comments released by the State Duma.

The amendments enshrine the mention of Russians´ “faith in God” and also stipulate that marriage is a heterosexual union, Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy told AFP.Most Russians identify as Orthodox Christians but Russia is officially a secular state. The new amendments also ban giving away Russian territory and any call promoting such a move would also be outlawed. A member of a Kremlin-appointed constitutional working group, actor Vladimir Mashkov, has suggested that such an amendment would ensure that Russia keeps Crimea — which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 — or the Kuril Islands — disputed with Japan for decades — even after Putin quits power.