Georgia plans anti-LGBT+ legislation

DPA: Following the adoption of a Russian-style law against foreign influence, the Georgian leadership also wants to restrict the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people in a similar way to Russia.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has submitted a package of laws to parliament under the heading "Family values and the protection of minors," Parliamentary Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced in Tbilisi on Tuesday.

The civil law, labour law and education laws in the country in the South Caucasus are to be amended.

According to media reports, Papuashvili explained that the constitution only provides for marriage between a man and a woman. Same-sex marriages should therefore be excluded by law.

Non-heterosexual people should not be allowed to adopt children, he added.

Only the biological gender male or female should be entered on identity documents, he said, and doctors would also not be allowed to perform gender reassignment surgery.

As in Russia, alleged "LGBT propaganda" is also to be banned in Georgia. Papuashvili said that there should be no rallies about homosexual relationships or transgender issues. This type of information would be banned in schools. Such depictions should also not be permitted in the media and advertising.

Small Georgia has a long Christian Orthodox tradition, and society is rather conservative in character.

Events like Pride in Tbilisi are often accompanied by massive counter-demonstrations, which have in the past turned violent.

Opponents of the current Georgian government fear that Georgia, like Russia, will also further tighten its repressive laws against the LGBT+ community.