Under a new bill passed by the Russian city of St. Petersburg, individuals and organizations can be fined for spreading "homosexual propaganda" in the presence of children, RT Russia reports.

The bill bans the dissemination of information "which could cause damage to the health or moral and spiritual development of minors, including by inducing them to form warped perceptions that traditional and non-traditional married relations are equally socially acceptable," according to the the British newspaper The Independent.

"Propaganda" is defined by the bill as "enticements, positive opinions and comments that promote non-traditional sexual and family relations to minors."

The chief backer of the measure said it is aimed at "themed" clubs of teenagers and the spreading of information about homosexuality on social networks, RT reports.

Fines would range from the equivalent of $150 for individuals to $16,000 for organizations.

The measure now needs only to go through the formality of a third reading in the St. Petersburg assembly to become law. Only one party, the small liberal Yabloko Party, opposed the bill.

Homosexuality, which was illegal in the Soviet period, was decriminalized in 1993 but gays continue to face widespread discrimination, RT reports.