The top diplomat of the E.U. Josep Borrell on Wednesday (September 18th) called on Georgia to withdraw a controversial “family values” bill that it says curtails the rights of LGBTI+ people, warning it would harm the country’s chances of joining the bloc.
“I call on Georgia to withdraw this legislation, further derailing the country on its path to the EU,” the European Union’s foreign policy chief reported on X, saying the bill passed by Georgia’s parliament would “increase discrimination & stigmatization.”
The Georgian Parliament adopted laws on ‘family values and protection of minors’ which will undermine the fundamental rights of the people and increase discrimination & stigmatisation.
I call on Georgia to withdraw this legislation, further derailing the country from its EU path.— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 18, 2024
Georgia lawmakers on Tuesday approved the third and final reading of a “family values and protection of minors” law that would impose sweeping restrictions on the rights of LGBTI+ people.
Read also: Georgia aligns with Moscow and passes laws against the LGBTI+ community
The bill would form the legal basis to ban Pride events and the public display of the LGBTQI+ rainbow flag and would also form the basis to support censorship of films and books.
Leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream party say it is necessary to safeguard traditional moral standards in Georgia, whose deeply conservative Orthodox Church is highly influential.
Polls show the party, which in 2014 passed a law banning discrimination against LGBTQI+ people before later shifting to more conservative positions, remains the most popular in Georgia, although it has lost ground since 2020, when it won a marginal majority in parliament.
In a ruling party ad aired on Georgian television, the Pride director’s face appears next to the words: “No to moral degradation.”
Read also:
Mystery of the sirens that spread terror in Lebanon – “Made in Hungary”
France – Peliko Case: His impersonator also confessed – “I am a criminal and a rapist”
Tagesspiegel: “Hezbollah threatens to retaliate against Israel for bomb blasts”
What are the buzzers that spread terror in Lebanon – How do they work?
NYT: Israel Buried Hezbollah Bombers – How It Detonated Them, The Three Scenarios
#calls #Georgia #withdraw #bill #restricts #LGBTI #rights
