IKEA stops online Russian magazine due to gay propaganda law

People push a shopping cart in front of a warehouse of the Swedish furniture maker IKEA in
Reuters/Alex Grimm

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, says it is halting its online magazine in Russia out of fears it violates the country’s law banning promotion of same-sex gay values to minors.

The Swedish retailer says its magazine IKEA Family Live “demonstrates various aspects of home life regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation.”

In a Russian language statement, IKEA said “we understand that some material in our magazine can be considered as propaganda,” adding it had decided “to stop the publication of the magazine in Russia.”

The law passed in 2013 bans promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” to people under the age of 18.

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Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

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