Christian church hails ‘LGBTQ propaganda’ ban

The Georgian Orthodox Church has praised the country’s parliament for passing a law restricting the spread of LGBTQ content and banning gender reassignment surgery, describing it as a “positive step forward” for the conservative post-Soviet nation.

Signed into law by Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday, the law ‘On Family Values and Protection of Minors’ prohibits the recognition of same-sex unions, bans transgender people from adopting children or undergoing sex-change surgery, and forbids positive depictions of LGBTQ and incestuous relationships in the media or educational materials.

In a statement on Friday, the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church called the legislation “a positive step forward,” describing it as “an important and decisive step to protect the traditional values that determine the identity of the Georgian nation.” 

Both the Patriarchate and “the majority of the Georgian population” oppose LGBTQ ideologies, the statement noted, describing how the church has lobbied for years against the inclusion of this material in educational textbooks.

“In addition, the spread of LGBTQ propaganda has often created significant social divisions in society and even become a tool of tension in the hands of those who seek to deepen polarization,” the Patriarchate added.

The legislation was backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, but condemned by the US, EU, and pro-Western opposition parties in Georgia. President Salome Zourabichvili, a long-time proponent of LGBTQ rights and closer relations with the West, declined to sign the bill, but did not veto it, instead returning the document to parliament for Papuashvili to decide whether or not to sign it.

The EU has threatened to revoke a visa-free travel agreement with Georgia in response to the LGBTQ law and US-style legislation that force NGOs funded from abroad to register as foreign agents and disclose their donors. Georgia is an EU applicant and has been granted some privileges on its path to joining the European bloc, but Brussels has accused Tbilisi of “democratic decline,” and warned that passage of the latest law would have “important repercussions” for Georgia’s membership prospects.

According to a 2021 survey, 84% of Georgians believe that homosexuality is “always wrong.” Georgia’s constitution defines marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman. However, the country also has anti-discrimination laws that protect members of the LGBTQ community.

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