Brittney Griner remains airborne, with an expected touchdown at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas near San Antonio at about 11pm, Texas time.

Lackland AFB is part of Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), an amalgamation of Fort Sam Houston, Randolph AFB and Lackland AFB, which were merged over a decade ago. Britteny will then move to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for a health evaluation and treatment. She will also be debriefed in a standard practice for released hostages.

Those of us on the East Coast, who would love to see Griner arriving on American soil, will have to wait until morning to see the WNBA star, who has played basketball off-season in Russia for several years, to supplement her income.

Brittney arrived in Abu Dhabi by private plane from Moscow after her release by Russian authorities. Viktor Bout, a former arms dealer, came in on another private plane from Washington after being released by U.S. authorities.

Brittney’s wife, Charelle, spoke to the nation, along with President Biden, after the quick prisoner swap was executed in the United Arab Emirates.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are credited with acting as intermediaries to negotiate the prisoner swap.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both traditional U.S. allies — although large numbers of American citizens remain foes of Saudi Arabia over the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Both nations are members of the OPEC+ oil producers alliance that includes Russia and has resisted European and American pressure to help isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Putin Signed New Anti-Gay Bill on Monday

AOC has followed this wonderful news of Griner’s release all day, as many reasons appeared as to why the star athlete is heading home. One of many reasons that hasn’t been mentioned is the law Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Monday, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.”

A new expanded law on “foreign agents” in Russia came into force today —Thursday — signifying an intensifying crackdown on free speech and opposition under President Vladimir Putin.

On the same day that the US House of Representatives gave final approval to the Respect for Marriage Act, now moving to President Biden’s desk for signature, Putin put his new laws into effect.

Rooting Out Western Liberal Values in Russia

The Russian president has been on a major crackdown to root out what he sees as Western liberal values.

Many Bible-toting MAGA Republicans in Congress agree with Putin, and their speeches were searing today as they spoke against the gay marriage bill. The new legislation protects interracial marriages and same sex marriages that are officially recognized by one state and now must be recognized by another one.

The new laws in Russia make it illegal to promote or “praise” LGBTQ relationships, publicly express non-heterosexual orientations or suggest that they are “normal.”

CNN writes that the package of amendments signed by Putin includes heavier penalties for anyone promoting “non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences,” as well as pedophilia and gender transition. Under the new law, all news or supportive references to LGBTQ people will be banned, across the internet, media, books, audiovisual services, cinema, and advertising.

With all these new anti-LGBTQ laws going into effect, Brittney Griner, who is an openly-gay woman, would be at extreme risk for an attack on her life inside Russia. I doubt that Putin wanted to risk making her into a martyr, as happened in Iran with the death of Kurdish student Nasrin Ghaderi. Brittney Griner is known and beloved in Russia, playing basketball for the Russian team.

What we know is that WNBA athlete Griner is an awesome American who has faced her extraordinarily difficult situation with grace and courage. So welcome home, Brittney.

May you enjoy the upcoming holidays with love and peace in your heart, surrounded by your fmily and friends. Now you have millions of Americans willing to work for your priorities, so don’t go silent for too long. I know that securing the releases of other Americans like Paul Whelan is a top priority. So give us marching orders, and we are willing and eager to get going on the releases of other Americans. ~ Anne.