Putin Signs Law Prohibiting Foreign Gay Couples from Adopting Russian Children

Russia has taken another step to condemn homosexuality, amid weeks of clashes between gay activists and their opponents, homophobic legislation proposal, and the blocking of so-called "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations."

President Vladimir Putin signed a bill into law on Wednesday that will bar foreign homosexual couples from adopting Russian orphans, USA Today reported.

The new legislation does not allow adoption by LGBT foreign partners whose home country acknowledges their union.

Single people and unmarried couples are also prohibited from adopting children in Russia.

In a statement released after the bill became an official law, the Russian government said the move is meant to give children a "harmonious" environment and keep them from "complexes, emotional suffering and stress."

The Kremlin-backed measure first came into view mid-June, right after France legalized gay marriage. As Europe witnessed its first LGBT union, Russia moved to separate itself from an institution that challenges the government's idea of "traditional Russian values."

Putin preemptively publicized his support for the bill before he could even legally cast his vote.

"If such legislation is adopted by the country's parliament, I will sign it," he said last month.

On Sunday, according to USA Today, Putin officially gave the go-ahead on a ban that prevents children from grabbing any information about homosexuals.

In 2012, Russia banned all Americans from adopting the European nation's orphaned children.