The bill, introduced by the ruling party Georgian Dream earlier this year, includes bans on same-sex marriages, adoptions by same-sex couples and public endorsement and depictions of LGBTQ+ relations and people in the media. It also bans gender manipulation procedures and changing gender designations in official documents.
The Orthodox Church wields great influence in Georgia, and demonstrations against the LGBTQ+ community are common. This year, tens of thousands marched in Tbilisi to promote “traditional family values.”
The pro-family bill was approved on its third and final reading, with 84 of 150 lawmakers voting for it. It now must be signed by President Salome Zourabichvili. Zourabichvili, who has been at odds with the ruling party. She can veto the bill, the same way she vetoed the foreign influence law, but the parliament, dominated by Georgian Dream, can override her and adopt the legislation regardless.
