Georgian MP introduces bill that seeks to ban LGBT propaganda and indoctrination efforts (most of which target youth)

By lauraharris // 2024-03-21

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Mamuka Mdinaradze, majority leader of Georgia's unicameral parliament, has introduced a bill that seeks to ban LGBT propaganda in the country. The bill aims to protect the society from pseudo-liberal ideology and its inevitable harmful consequences. "Georgian society has always been tolerant, but it cannot be tolerant towards pseudo-liberal propaganda," said Mdinaradze, who leads the parliamentary faction of the Georgia Dream party in the chamber, earlier in March. "We are witnessing serious trends in the spread of pseudo-liberal ideology worldwide. This propaganda is becoming increasingly aggressive. Most importantly, the propaganda has serious consequences." The lawmaker further argued that international research supports the need for such a law, pointing to studies indicating a rise in non-traditional sexual orientations – particularly among younger demographics – in countries where pseudo-liberal ideology is prevalent. "International studies confirm that in a number of countries where pseudo-liberal ideology is particularly rampant, the percentage of people with non-traditional sexual orientations among those aged 18 to 25 already amounts to about 20 percent and in some places even more," Mdinaradze explained. "It is alarming that over seven years, this figure has tripled, and the increase coincides with the period when this propaganda became particularly active." According to him, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups like Tbilisi Pride, along with the United Nations (UN), have been spreading LGBT propaganda within the country. He accused these "pseudo-liberals" of imposing "pseudo-liberal" ideology on the general public by organizing annual events like the Pride Parade (Gay Parade), even though the majority viewed it negatively. (Related: Support for LGBT drops as pushback increases, report finds.) "[Tbilisi Pride] organized the training with the financing from the UN Development Fund. The officials from [Tbilisi Pride] claimed that it was a workshop to counter Russian disinformation, while the [UN Development Program] has said that it had funded workshops about minority rights. In fact, the topic of the conversation was the defense of pseudo-liberal propaganda."

Anti-LGBT propaganda bill not the first of its kind

The anti-LGBT propaganda bill introduced by Mdinaradze and his Georgia Dream party is not the first of its kind legislation proposed in the country over the years. In May 2023, the pro-Russian party Conservative Movement teamed up with the ultra-right broadcasting company "Alt-Info" to create a set of bills with similar content. The set of bills is an amendment to the law "On meetings and demonstrations" to prohibit the propagation of non-traditional sexual orientations within the country. The proposed amendments explicitly stated that meetings and demonstrations would be prohibited if they were suspected of promoting non-traditional sexual orientations, if they involved any statements against religious movements and if they incited social discord. Violations of the proposed law would entail fines of 3,000 Georgian lari (about $1,210) or administrative imprisonment for up to 25 days for participants. Meanwhile, organizers would be fined 5,000 lari (about $2010) or up to 30 days of administrative arrest. However, Mdinaradze opposed the bill for several reasons. “First, for legal reasons. Secondly, there is a pragmatic consideration: Such a law may become more favorable for LGBT propagandists and radical forces that build their entire narrative around it. Thirdly, many members of our team believe that healthy propaganda should be opposed to unhealthy propaganda, and not legal mechanisms, with which certain claims can then arise." Furthermore, in 2017, Tbilisi prevented the legalization of same-sex marriages, and the following year, it was explicitly defined in the Georgian Constitution that marriage is a union between a man and a woman to create a family. Watch this clip of the Russian Supreme Court banning the "extremist" LGBT movement in Russia. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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Anti-LGBT propaganda bill not the first of its kind

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