Bulgaria Passes Law to Prevent LGBT+ Propaganda in Schools
The Bulgarian parliament has passed an amendment to the national Education Act, banning the promotion of “non-traditional” sexual orientations and gender changes in schools and kindergartens. The amendment, introduced by the nationalist Revival Party, was approved on Wednesday after heated debates, with 135 lawmakers voting in favor, 57 against, and eight abstaining.
The legislation prohibits the “propaganda, popularization, and incitement” of any ideas related to sexual orientations or gender identities that differ from heterosexuality. The bill’s backers, including the center-right GERB-SDS, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, and most members of the centrist DPS, argue that such content has no place in the education system. Revival Party leader Kostadin Kostadinov described LGBT ideology as “anti-human,” asserting that it should not be promoted in schools. Proponents regard such measures as God-centric, family oriented, and a means of protecting their children from perversion and immorality.
However, the amendment has sparked outrage among LGBT advocacy groups in Bulgaria and the European Union. Critics argue that the law mirrors similar anti-LGBT measures enacted in Russia in 2013 and Hungary in 2021. Yavor Bozhankov of the liberal PP-DB party, the only parliamentary group to oppose the bill, accused the Revival Party of using the issue for “pre-election populism.”
The EU-wide LGBT advocacy group Forbidden Colors expressed deep concern over Bulgaria’s adoption of what it described as Russia’s “anti-human rights playbook.” The organization labeled the law a “direct assault” on the rights of LGBTIQ+ individuals. The passage of the amendment marks a significant escalation in Bulgaria’s ongoing cultural and political battle over the LGBT agenda.
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