Protesters rallied outside Bulgaria’s parliament on Thursday to denounce a controversial legal amendment adopted the day before that bans talk of LGBTQ+ and so-called "non-traditional sexual choices" in schools.
ADVERTISEMENTProtestors demonstrated outside the Bulgarian parliament on Thursday to denounce a controversial legal amendment adopted the day before, which bans talks of LGBTQ+ and so-called "non-traditional sexual choices" in schools.
Feminist, LGBTQ+ and other rights groups organised the protest to call for a reversal of the amendment, which bans what its supporters call "LGBTQ+ propaganda in schools".
Waving the LGBTQ+ flag, protesters chanted slogans like "Veto the law!" as the police guarded the rally.
No violence was reported.
"This is the first step in making non-traditional sexual orientation a crime. I consider this absolutely unacceptable and out of the spirit of what we strive to be as a country and society," Ivan Ivanov, a protestor at Thursday’s rally, said.
On Wednesday, Bulgaria'’s parliament approved the amendment to the country's educational legislation.
The amendment was introduced by the pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party and, surprisingly, backed by some pro-European Union parties.
Lawmakers in the 240-seat Bulgarian parliament voted 159 in favour of the change.
The amendment bans the "promotion, popularisation and support of ideas and opinions related to non-traditional sexual orientation or sexual identification other than biological" in schools.
In a separate vote Wednesday, lawmakers also approved a law defining "non-traditional sexual orientation" as one that is "different from the generally accepted and established notions in Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of the opposite sex".
In the past, EU member Bulgaria has been criticised for violating the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and has been urged to guarantee its recognition and protection.
Bulgaria has also declined to ratify the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women due to widespread belief it means to promote LGBTQ+ rights.
Similar anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has been passed in other countries in the region, including Hungary, Moldova and Turkey.