Poll: Don't Boycott Russian Olympics Over Anti-Gay Laws

There are growing calls for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as the Russian government continues its crackdown on gay rights. A new Russian law bans "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations around minors."

THELAW.TV polled 500 Internet users to find out whether they think the U.S. should boycott the Sochi Olympics to protest Russian's anti-gay laws, with an over-whelming response that no, the U.S. should not boycott. Here are the results of THELAW.TV's poll:

24% of Americans say, yes, the U.S. should not boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics

76% of Americans say, no, the U.S. should not boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics

Here are some comments from the poll respondents:

• "No, because that would hurt more than Russia. The laws in Russia are what they are and it's down to their people to move for changes. Luckily for them, they live in an age where many countries are opening up to gays, so I doubt those laws will last too long. If not, they have many different places they can move to!"
• "The IOC should move the Olympics."
• "It would make major headlines if U.S. supported the oppressed Russian gays. I would give the U.S. government a standing ovation as a gay man myself."
• "Well, the U.S. isn't exactly the leader of gay rights, so I don't think it makes sense."
• "Politics should not have a spot in sports."
• "No, the U.S. government has not yet allowed gay marriage. Why would we boycott when it isn't even allowed in many of our states?"

The protests go far beyond just calling for an Olympic boycott. "A number of bars worldwide have also stopped serving Russian vodka," according to CNN.

From CNN:

Human Rights Watch described the anti-gay propaganda law as "a profoundly discriminatory and dangerous bill that is bound to worsen homophobia in Russia." Under the guise of protecting children, it will infringe on people's rights to free expression and discriminate against Russia's LGBT community, it said, as the bill was being debated.

What do you think? Tell us in the comment section below.

THELAW.TV's survey was conducted on Thumb using a demographically balanced internet-based survey of 500 American adults and has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.9 percent.