Georgian Nightmare: Georgia’s ruling party passes law curbing LGBTQ+ rights, banning gender transitions and outlawing Pride marches

Shalva Papuashvili, a Georgian parliamentary speaker, has signed into law a “family values” bill curbing LGBTQ+ rights, just weeks before a high-stakes parliamentary election.

Lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party, which says the law is necessary to protect Georgia’s Orthodox Christian church from outsiders, approved the bill in September, which bans gender transitions and could outlaw Pride marches and displays of the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag.

While President Salome Zourabichvili, a critic of the ruling party, refused to sign the bill into law, Georgian Dream and its allies in parliament had enough seats to overcome her opposition.

Georgian LGBTQ+ activists say that the law is an attempt by Georgian Dream to boost support among conservative voters ahead of the October 26 election, in which the party is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in power.

Some Western countries have criticised the bill, casting it as part of what they say is a turn towards authoritarianism and alignment with Russia in country that had mainly leaned towards the West since the breakup of the Soviet Union.