Georgian politicians have passed the third reading of the law on “family values and the protection of minors” that would introduce broad restrictions to the rights of LGBTQ people.

The bill adopted on Tuesday provides an understanding for authorities to ban Pride events and the LGBTQ rainbow flag in public spaces and film and literature censorship. It also expresses opposition to gender reassignment, adoption by same-sex couples or trans-seminaries and annuls all same-sex marriages that were conducted overseas in Georgia.

The governing politicians of the Georgian Dream rejected an opposition boycott and voted 84 to nil to approve the bill and amendments regarding several other laws. According to officials of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, protecting “traditional moral values” is necessary in Georgia, where the role of the Orthodox Church is extremely important.(more.)

Tamar Jakeli, the director of the Tbilisi Pride campaign group, said that the bill, which also rewords an existing law that bans same-sex marriage and prohibition of gender reassignment surgery, will indeed shut down the organization.

 “This law is the most terrible thing to happen to the LGBT community in Georgia,” said Jakeli, 28, to the Reuters news agency. “We will most probably have to close down for business since there is no manner in which we can operate.”

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who has largely limited powers in this country, including the power of veto, has also condemned the Georgian Dream and affirmed her intention to veto the bill.

Still, Georgian Dream and its allies have sufficient seats in parliament to overcome her veto. Same-sex relations are one of the sensitive subjects in modern Georgian society, as the majority of the population opposes them, and same-sex marriage is prohibited by the constitution of Georgia.

Anti-LGBTQ goofucks have physically assaulted activists conducting Pride marches in Tbilisi in recent years. It has risen particularly this year, especially with the October 26 polls where Georgian Dream is seeking another term in office and has vigorously campaigned against homosexuals’ rights.

The ruling party, headed by the billionaire and incumbent Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has strengthened cooperation with Russia as Georgia updates its relationships with Western states.

Before that, this year, it enacted legislation on ‘foreign agents’ that European and United States diplomats described as authoritarian and influenced by Russia. The law sparked some of the biggest demonstrations in Georgia since it emerged from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Surveys claim that the party that in 2014 adopted legislation against discrimination of sexual minorities and that in 2017–2018 backed more right-wing positions is still Georgia’s most popular. However, it has weakened its position since it secured a fragile majority in 2020. In one governing party advertisement aired on Georgian television, Pride director Jakeli’s face is shown alongside the words, followed by another memorable slogan by PDP, “No to moral degradation.” 

The European Union has stated that adopting the bill will have implications for Tbilisi’s European integration process and will deepen the tension in EU-Georgia relations. According to the EU, the EU underscores that Georgia’s accession process has been effectively suspended and calls on the authorities to return to the EU integration process.