No, this is not true. It is probably a bad law, but "anything that publicly references gays" is not a crime. The law only establishes a fine (not prison term) for promoting homosexuality as a norm for children under 16. Personally, I do not see how you could do it without being prosecuted for violating "Obscene publications act" in UK or similar laws in US.

There was fairly similar law in Britain until 2003: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28

Also, I should note there is no protests supporting gay rights in Saudi Arabia were homosexuality is punished by death.

Also see: https://marknesop.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/somewhere-over-th... , https://marknesop.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/warning-explicit-...

Biased, but biased in a different way then usual articles on this subject and therefore useful.