Georgian Parliament Speaker, Shalva Papuashvili has signed into a law a bill that severely curtails LGBTQ+ rights.
He stated in a social media post that the law he signed is not about “fleeting, temporary and volatile” ideas and ideologies.
He asserted that it is based on common sense, historical experience and the Christian, Georgian and European values that have remained strong throughout centuries.
The bill, titled On Family Values and Protection of Minors, proposes sweeping changes to 18 laws, including restrictions on free speech and expression.
It bans public gatherings that promote gender identities other than “biological sex” and prohibits advocacy for same-sex relationships.
The bill includes bans on same-sex marriages, adoptions by same-sex couples and public endorsement and depictions of LGBTQ+ relations and people in the media. It also bans gender-affirming care and changing gender designations in official documents.
“This law protects the rights of all citizens, including freedom of expression, so that the rights of others are not violated, which is the essence and idea of true democracy.”
Shalva Papuashvili
Parliament gave the legislation its final approval as Georgia, a largely conservative country where the Orthodox Church wields significant influence, prepares to vote in a parliamentary election.
The law has been widely seen as an effort by the governing party to shore up support among conservative groups. It was decried by human rights advocates and LGBTQ+ activists, who said it further marginalized an already vulnerable community.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili had refused to sign the bill and returned it to parliament on Wednesday, October 2, 2024. It was introduced by the governing Georgian Dream party and approved by lawmakers last month.
Papuashvili said that the President’s refusal to sign the law came as no surprise, describing her as “the nominal opposition leader.”
Papuashvili added that by not signing the bill, President Zourabichvili and the Georgian opposition “did not have enough courage to openly express their opinion regarding this law.”
Some analysts say parts of the Georgian opposition are walking a fine line ahead of the Oct. 26 election between condemning the move to curtail LGBTQ+ rights and not wanting to alienate some voters.
According to the parliament speaker, he is well aware that the law will come under criticism from the country’s Western partners.
Law Deemed Contrary To Recommendations To EU Membership
Georgian President, Salome Zourabichvili told a news agency that the measure was “contrary to the spirit and letter of the European recommendations” tabled by Brussels as a precondition for opening membership talks with Tbilisi.
She said that the bill was listed, among other anti-democratic measures, in a charter signed under her mediation by opposition parties “as the ones that will need to be repealed once the four pro-European opposition parties come to power” in parliamentary elections set for October 26.
The law has drawn comparisons with Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, further fuelling accusations that Tbilisi has moved closer to Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.
Russian authorities in the last decade have banned public endorsement of “nontraditional sexual relations” and introduced laws against gender-affirming care, among other measures.
Its Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism by labeling what the authorities called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia as an extremist organization and banning it.
Rights groups slammed the signing of the bill into law.
Ana Tavadze, an activist with Tbilisi Pride, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group told a news agency that by signing the law, the ruling party has “taken homophobia to a new level, and that is political and institutional homophobia.”
Tavadze added that Georgian Dream’s aim is to “fabricate” problems ahead of the election to distract people from “their failure” to solve issues involving unemployment, education and healthcare.
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