This text, inspired by a Hungarian law, makes illegal the “encouragement” of a “non-traditional sexual orientation” and a gender identity “different from biological”.
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Bulgarian lawmakers have banned, Wednesday, August 7, by a very large majority “propaganda” LGBT+ at school, a surprise vote against a backdrop of “culture war”. The amendment, introduced on the proposal of the pro-Russian far-right party Vazrajdane (Renaissance), was adopted with 159 votes (22 against and 13 abstentions). This text makes illegal “encouragement” of a “non-traditional sexual orientation”” and a gender identity “different from biological”based on the model of a Hungarian law strongly criticized by the European Union.
The rapporteurs justified the need for rapid legislation on the grounds of a “unacceptable normalization of non-traditional sexual orientation”operated by a “propaganda”, currently underway according to them. For Denitsa Lubenova, lawyer of the LGBT+ association Deistvie (Action), they have “take advantage” from a current context of “culture war” around the Olympics to push through this reform. The Orthodox Church strongly criticized the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics which had made room for sexual and gender minorities, and Bulgaria denounced the participation of Algerian boxers Imane Khelif and Taiwanese Lin Yu-ting, judging that they represented “the other sex”.
“With this law”the extreme right hopes “improve your score in the legislative elections” scheduled in two months, while the parties represented in Parliament have failed to form a government majority, according to Denitsa Lubenova. Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, is in the grip of severe political instability and its voters are called to the polls this autumn, due to a lack of a majority, for the seventh time since 2021.
