Russia’s first transgender politician, Yulia Aleshina, has given up on running for governor of the Altai region, ABC reported on Friday.

Ayoshina, who was running as an MP for the Civic Initiative Party, said she would use her position in government to campaign for LGBT rights. Now, with new laws in the country restricting gender reassignment, that is no longer possible, he said. (Related: Judge blocks Democrat governor from allowing transgender driver’s license to change gender)

Ayoshina said the bill undermined the necessary support for registering candidatures because it failed to reach the required number of 502 signatures. The former candidate argued that 19 city council members “clearly were prepared to sign their signatures in support of my nomination,” while others cited the bill as a reason for withdrawing their support. ABC I got it.

“They said to me, ‘How can we officially support transgender people when the State Duma has banned transgender people in Russia,'” Ayoshina said. Moscow Times.

“[Municipal deputies] “If the State Duma bans transgender people in Russia, how can we officially support transgender people?” Yulia Aleshina said. https://t.co/0hXalLx28Z

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) July 10, 2023

“By signing your support, we are going against national policy. We have families and children. We don’t want to be oppressed,” the city’s lawmakers said, according to the newspaper.

Russian parliamentarian moved Russia will ban sex reassignment surgery in June after President Vladimir Putin has voiced his opposition to “untraditional lifestyles,” according to Reuters. The law prohibits state agencies from changing gender on legal documents and medical interventions “with the aim of shaping primary and secondary sexual characteristics.”