KISSING BAN PROPOSED IN RUSSIA

According to a story from the BBC and the Stolichnaya Vechernyaya Gazeta newspaper, the city of Moscow is considering a ban on public kissing. Unnamed sources are quoted as stating that the plan is to increase public morality.

Human rights campaigner and a leading member of Russia's Democratic Union party, Valeriya Novodvorskaya said she would defy the ban if the new bill is introduced.

"Introducing a ban on kissing is really taking things to the Orwellian level of an anti-sexual league and capital punishment for the offence," Ms. Novodvorskaya told Echo Moskvy radio station.

"However, if this is not a joke and the mayor's office is indeed drafting such a resolution, I will from now on spend my days kissing in public places - simply out of principle.

"The moment I see a nice person I know, I will immediately kiss them - even if I don't feel like it. I invite all other Moscovites to do the same," Ms. Novodvorskaya added.

There must be some really big kissing problem if it's necessary to pass a law to ban it. One would think the Moscow city government has more important issues to spend its time on.