Georgian Dream Introduces Draft Law Censoring LGBTQIA+ and Gender-Related 'Propaganda'
By Liza Mchedlidze
Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Chairman of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili introduced a legislative package consisting of 19 laws, which includes provisions for prohibiting same-sex marriage, censoring broadcasters and art, and restricting freedom of assembly.
Papuashvili stated that with the draft law, which will be registered:
- It will not be allowed to register an alternative form of marriage unless it is a union distinctly different from that between a man and a woman.
- Same-sex couples will be prohibited from adopting children.
- Adoption will also be prohibited for individuals who self-identify as a gender different from their biological sex or, in the case of single applicants, if the person is not heterosexual.
According to the initiative of Georgian Dream:
- It will be forbidden to conduct sex-change operations or use any other medical procedures related to gender transition.
- It will be forbidden to write a person's gender different from their biological sex in official documents.
- Propaganda in educational institutions will be prohibited, particularly the dissemination of information aimed at promoting identification with the opposite sex, same-sex relationships, or incest.
- Broadcasters will not be allowed to disseminate information on the air that promotes a person's identification with a different gender, same-sex relationships, or incest.
- Advertising of similar content will also be prohibited, meaning broadcasters will be forbidden from airing such scenes.
According to Papuashvili, the matter concerns "not airing such scenes".
Parliament Chairman said that the scenes will be removed for cinemas as well.
According to the draft law, gatherings and demonstrations are prohibited if they are aimed at promoting a "person's belonging to a gender different from their own, same-sex relationships, or incest".
Papuashvili announced that May 17 will be established as a day of "family purity and respect for parents" and will be declared a holiday.
