Georgia's queer propaganda law passed its second reading in the House by a vote of 81 to zero.
The bill, backed by the ruling Georgia Dream Party, lays the foundation for a number of restrictions and changes.
Accordingly IPNThe ruling party plans to pass the amendments to the law in its third and final reading in the next plenary week from September 17th to 20th.
The anti-queer law package “to protect family values and minors” consists of a “main law” and 18 other related draft laws.
On Monday, the Georgian Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee supported the package in its second reading and made several changes, including a new article defining the term “popularization.” RFE/RL reported.
According to the new version of the bill, the popularization of queer relationships or gender reassignment is defined as the provision of such information “objectively in the opinion of the observer.”
Accordingly RFE/RLThe committee also added a ban on adoption for people “who do not identify with a biological gender.” The previous version already provided for such a ban for trans people and people “whose sexual orientation does not belong to the category of heterosexuality”.
On Wednesday afternoon, the EU's chief spokesman for foreign affairs and security, Peter Stano, said the EU regrets The rushed second reading of the bill.
“This package undermines the fundamental rights of the Georgian people and risks further stigmatization and discrimination against a part of the population,” his statement said.
“The EU regrets that legislation with a significant impact on the path of EU integration was adopted without proper public consultations and without thorough analysis of its compliance with European and international standards.”
“The EU calls on the Georgian authorities to completely reconsider this legislative package.” Such a proposal, combined with the restrictions on civil society imposed by the Foreign Influence Transparency Law, will further strain EU-Georgia relations. “The EU recalls that Georgia’s accession process has effectively come to a standstill and urges the authorities to recommit to the path of EU integration.”
The ruling Georgian Dream party first announced plans in early June to introduce a queerphobic legislative package to ban queer “propaganda” and gender-affirming treatments and prevent queer people from adopting children.
The bill is wide-ranging, affecting education, healthcare, media, business, and public gatherings, and ostentatiously bans a number of rights not available to queer people in Georgia. The adoption is expected to take place in September.
[Read more: Explainer | What’s in Georgia’s new anti-queer bill?]
Opposition and civil society groups have repeatedly stated that Georgian Dream weaponized this legislation for electoral purposes in the run-up to the October 26 general election.
However, opposition to the content of the law remained muted.
