The Bulgarian Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to ban “pro-LGBT+ propaganda” in schools, amid a suspected “culture war” tied to the Paris Olympics, according to NGOs.
The amendment, proposed by the pro-Russian far-right Vazrajdane (Renaissance) party, secured 159 votes with 22 against and 13 abstentions. Modeled on a much-criticised Hungarian law, it outlaws “encouraging” a “non-traditional sexual orientation” and “gender identity different from the biological one.”
Lawmakers defended the swift passage of the legislation, claiming it addressed the “unacceptable normalisation of non-traditional sexual orientation” currently being “promoted” as they see it.
Orthodox Church leaders had sharply censured the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, which gave prominence to sexual and gender minorities. Bulgaria joined in the criticism, condemning the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, viewing them as representing “the other sex.”
Radoslav Stoyanov, vice-president of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, believes the new law will inhibit the dissemination of “scientific information” about minority groups to students.
The NGO LevFem, which organised a demonstration on Wednesday to protest the law’s adoption, fears it will make it impossible to combat the bullying of young LGBT+ people in schools.
Bulgaria, a member of the EU, is in the midst of severe political instability, with its citizens called to the polls this autumn for the seventh time since 2021 for want of a majority.
In Hungary, public discussions of homosexuality in front of minors have been punishable by a fine since the summer of 2021.
In late June, the Georgian Parliament also adopted an “LGBT+ propaganda” ban, closely mirroring legislation used in Russia to repress sexual and gender minorities.
