In the coming days, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will consider two petitions written and signed by the people of Ukraine – one on the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and one to replace a statue of Catherine the Great with one of gay adult film star Billy Herrington. 

In Ukraine, the sitting president has ten days to consider a petition should it receive over 25,000 signatures, Pink News reported. As of publication, the petition for same-sex marriage boasts 28,592 signatures, and that regarding the statue has 26,361.

While same-sex relations and relationships are not prohibited in Ukraine, the country does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil partnerships. This presents the same issues for Ukrainians as it does those in same-sex relationships wishing to commit to each other anywhere else in the world, such as the inability to jointly buy property or adopt children, problems concerning medical care and so on. 

Considering the continued Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war, couples being able to marry is arguably more important than ever. As the BBC notes, should someone in a same-sex relationship die due to the war, their partner would be unable to collect their body and bury them. 

“At this time, every day can be the last,” a translation of the short petition reads. “Let people of the same sex get the opportunity to start a family and have an official document to prove it. They need the same rights as traditional couples.”

While Zelensky must consider the petition, the BBC reports that it remains unclear whether he will make this requested change to Ukrainian law. 

Homophobia is fairly prevalent in Ukraine, though it has decreased somewhat in recent years. According to a recent study undertaken by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, the percentage of Ukrainians with a negative view of LGBTQ+ people dropped from 60.4% to 38.2% over the past six years. While 12% currently have a positive view of LGBTQ+ people and 44% are indifferent, the institute also found that only 24% of Ukrainians thought same-sex marriage should be legalised. 

Additionally, homophobic violence has taken place at Ukrainian Pride parades every year since the nation’s first in 2013.

This does not bode well for the chances of the same-sex marriage petition, but its great number of signatures does at least mean it must cross President Zelensky’s desk.

With a shockingly high number of signatures, the petition to replace an Odesa monument to Catherine the Great with a statue of gay porn star Billy Herrington will also receive consideration from the Ukrainian president. 

The petition, when translated, argues that the former Russian empress is a controversial figure who damaged the state and culture of Ukraine. 

“The very fact of erecting this monument was a terrible mistake, and every day of its continued existence signals that Odesa is in the zone of Russian cultural influence,” wrote petition author Oleksiy Yuriyovych Matveev. “It’s time to change that.”

The proposal of Billy Herrington drinking beer as a replacement likely comes from one of many popular memes starring the gay pornography actor. This meme in particular consists of Herrington drinking a beer and smoking a cigarette, supposedly in a gay bar. 

In the petition, Matveev writes that not only would a statue of Herrington with a beer be “fun and funny,” but it would make for a great tourist attraction and would allow university students in Odesa to have a drink with the late adult film star after their graduations. 

More seriously, the petition argues that such a statue would demonstrate Ukraine’s support for the LGBTQ+ community (something in question, especially recently), and would constitute a “renunciation of the infamous Russian heritage and a loud statement that Odesa is not some provincial town of the Russian Empire. That Odesa is not a part of Russian culture but has its own culture and sense of humor.”

While the suggestion of replacing the former empress with a gay porn star is largely humorous, both petitions evidence the continued resistance of Ukraine against the Russian invasion. The petitions represent a refusal to stop living, to stop laughing, or to stop loving, even as Ukraine suffers bombs and bullets.