.... Gay people aren't criminalized in the USA. Sure, the south may have large swathes of intolerant rednecks, but considering that gay people regularly parade through some of our biggest cities in assless chaps (I assume. Its the cliche and its a funny point) I think we are already leaps and bounds ahead of Russia. We have a good handful of states that recognize gay marriage and the army decided to recognize and allow them. Any resistance to gay marriage is losing traction fast. Meanwhile, Russia just declared it illegal to spread "Homosexual Propaganda" which includes holding hands or kissing. Plus they practically hunt gay people for (very public) sport.
If you actually read the story you would see that this happened in South Africa. USA may in fact be worse than Russia for gays, but your proof needs to be more thoroughly vetted.