Carrboro may keep ties with Russian sister city

Time might heal all wounds, but Chapel Hill’s relationship with its Russian sister city Saratov has remained on edge.

During a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting last week, Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and Town Council member Lee Storrow presented a petition asking the council to sever its relationship with Saratov.

Kleinschmidt and Storrow crafted the petition in August after Russia passed a law banning “homosexual propaganda” in June. Both Kleinschmidt and Storrow are openly gay.

“I’m interested to see how the council responds,” Kleinschmidt said. “We petitioned the council to further discuss the issue. We will open the issue up for discussion during a future scheduled meeting.”

Kleinschmidt said he has been closely following how other cities around the world have responded to the Russian anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) law. Last month, Lansing, Mich., ended its relationship with St. Petersburg, Russia .

But officials in Carrboro, which also has a sister city link to Saratov, are not so sure they want to end the relationship between the two municpalities.

Carrboro Alderman Lydia Lavelle said she isn’t looking to end the relationship with Saratov anytime soon.

“We don’t want to attack them and directly cut off our ties,” she said. “They are in a precarious situation, like we are in North Carolina.”

Kleinschmidt said he reached out to Lavelle, who is running for mayor of Carrboro. He said Lavelle wanted to take time to learn more about Saratov’s stance on the anti-LGBT laws.

“She had some questions such as figuring out the city’s views on the national anti-LGBT outlook,” Kleinschmidt said. “I’m still not convinced with keeping the relationship.”

Lavelle said she wants to make it clear to Saratov that Carrboro is a different town than Chapel Hill.

“All three of us are members of this agreement,” she said “We might go about this situation differently from Chapel Hill.”

Lavelle said Carrboro residents haven’t expressed concern about the Russian city.

“We haven’t received any information to sever ties from citizens of Carrboro as Chapel Hill did,” she said. “So we have no reason to sever ties at this point.”

UNC senior Rachel Kaufmann said it is clear that Russian and American views on LGBT issues differ. She said she feels Chapel Hill ending its relationship with Saratov could make some in that city reconsider the issue.

“We shouldn’t be influenced by their decisions, but they could gain from our ideals toward equality,” she said.

Kleinschmidt said he sent an email to Saratov officials to communicate his concerns, but he has not received a response.

“I read stories every day of incidents where LGBT citizens are enduring terrors because of the laws,” Kleinschmidt siad. “Hopefully this event will spread awareness.”

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