MOSCOW, August 15 (RAPSI) - The Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow upheld on Thursday a refusal by the St. Petersburg civil registry office to register a same-sex marriage, the court's press office told RAPSI on Thursday.

On June 28, Yana Petrova and Elena Davydova attempted to file an application for marriage registration in St.Petersburg. Their application was dismissed.  According to the Family Code of Russian Federation, marriage is an alliance between a man and a woman.  Petrova and Davydova appealed the refusal. The court considered the complaint and dismissed it.

Earlier, gay activists Dmitry Chunosov and Yaroslav Yevtushenko filed a similar complaint to a Lipetsk court. Their appeal was also rejected.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” toward minors in June. While the law’s proponents argue that it is aimed at protecting children from harmful influences, critics have called the legislation homophobic and so vaguely defined that it would inevitably be used arbitrarily against homosexuals and stir hate crimes in the country.