Russian President Putin on gay marriage: 'As long as I'm President this will not happen'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reiterated that Russia would not legalise gay marriage as long as he is the President of the country. Vladimir Putin said that he is against the idea of mom and dad being called 'parent number 1' and 'parent number 2' and added that he would not allow the traditional notion to be subverted. Putin's comment came amid his meeting with the state commission to discuss changes to Russia's constitution. 

Read: Vladimir Putin Names Head Of Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin As Russia's New Prime Minister

Putin was chairing a meet on amending the Russian constitution when one member suggested adding a definition of a family to the constitution that would say a family as a union of a man and a woman. Putin, however, objected to the idea as he said that the wording would violate the rights of single parent but reaffirmed his strong opposition to gay marriage. Putin first suggested the idea of constitutional amendments last month and quickly got approval from lawmakers. 

Read: Russian President Putin Accompanied By 6 Bodyguards To Bathroom At Ukraine Summit In Paris

Russian constitution amendment 

According to certain media reports, Putin proposed amendments to the Russian constitution in order to extend his grip on power and to extend his presidential tenure. According to the current Russian constitution, a president can stay for six years with one successive re-election, which means that a president can remain on the chair for a stretch of 12 years. 

Read: Former Ukraine President Warns Zelensky To Beware Of Putin Ahead Of Talks With Russia

After graduating from Leningrad State University, Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years before resigning in 1991 to start a political career in Saint Petersburg. Putin joined the administration of then-President Boris Yeltsin in 1996 and was appointed the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor of KGB in post soviet era Russia. Putin was appointed as prime minister in 1999 and was elected as president after Yeltsin's resignation in the same year. Putin stayed the President of Russia until 2008 following which he took over as prime minister again before returning as president in 2012. 

Read: Putin Announces 'Great Russian Encyclopedia' To Replace "unreliable" Wikipedia