The new crackdown comes months after the South Caucasus country was granted EU candidate status.

Georgia could soon introduce tough new rules clamping down on LGBTQ+ rights and barring public celebrations of same-sex relationships, if a new draft bill introduced by the country’s ruling party is passed.

The draft legislation, set out by the governing Georgian Dream party on Monday, aims to prohibit people from changing their gender, as well as outlaw same-sex couples from adopting children.

According to Georgian Dream’s executive chair Mamuka Mdinaradze, Georgia’s constitution should be amended to allow marriage only of “a union of a single genetic male and a single genetic female.”

In an echo of anti-LGBTQ+ “propaganda” laws introduced in Russia and decried by human rights defenders, the proposal would also ban education and public gatherings it describes as popularizing “same-sex family or intimate relationships,” as well as “incest.”

However, Mdinaradze said the move will “protect family values and minors.” He did not rule out that holding a Pride parade or displaying an LGBTQ+ flag could be in violation of the bill.

Last year’s Pride event in the capital, Tbilisi, was evacuated after far-right protesters stormed the site, which the police failed to secure. Organizers blamed Georgian authorities for having “co-ordinated” with anti-LGBTQ+ activists.

The government has recently increased funding to Georgian Orthodox Church. The proposed bill is widely perceived as an attempt by Georgian Dream to appease the influential church and to secure a fourth term in office when the country heads to the polls in October to elect a new parliament.

https://www.politico.eu/article/georgia-ban-change-gender-new-anti-lgbtq-law-tbilisi/