The Bulgarian parliament banned on August 7 what it called propaganda of “untraditional sexual orientation” at schools by adopting amendments to the law on pre-school and school education. 

The move was initiated by the far-right, pro-Russian Vazrazhdane party and was reminiscent of the Kremlin’s attitude to regarding LGBT rights.

The amendments were approved by all political parties except reformist Change Continues-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB). Even Gerb and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), which claim to be pro-Western and democratic formations, backed the changes.

This decision angered the liberal community in Bulgaria and a protest was organised in front of parliament for the evening of the same day. It was seen as a major blow to democratic values and a violation of human rights.

CC-DB’s supporters were angry as most MPs from the formation either backed the changes or abstained from voting during the first reading. They only changed their votes in the final reading on August 7.

The law changes ban the imposing of ideological and/or religious doctrines, the holding of political activities and the propaganda, “promotion or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views related to untraditional sexual orientation and/or the definition of gender identity other than the biological one”.

Propagators of legislation changes claimed that they reflect the spirit of the Bulgarian constitution that allows marriage only between a man and a woman, as well as Orthodox Christian values.

The amendments describe “untraditional sexual orientation” as “different from commonly accepted and embedded in the Bulgarian legal tradition notions of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of the opposite sex”.

 CC-DB MP Elisaveta Belobradova called the legislation cheap populism. Georgi Georgiev of Gerb also criticised the changes, saying the adoption of the definition “untraditional sexual orientation” is an “unprecedented precedent in the legal system of a [EU] member state” as it is discriminatory and contradicts the European Convention of Human Rights.

Proponents of the changes, however, argued that this step should be followed by another one: the re-introduction of religious classes at schools. Kornelia Ninova, ex-leader of the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), also said it was time to remove “perversions’ from schools and that the “gender ideology … will take over the Bulgarian schools”.

She was referring to strong objections against the Istanbul Convention on the prevention and fight against violence towards women and children. The convention was not accepted in Bulgaria as pro-Russian nationalist parties claimed it would introduce a third gender.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHK) NGO issued a statement saying that the adoption of the legislation changes violates human rights and must be withdrawn.

“We express a negative opinion on the bill amending and supplementing the Pre-School and School Education Act. It is marked by legislative technique of poor quality and is unclear, contradicting the Constitution of Republic of Bulgaria, a number of norms of European Union (EU) law, the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of Children and the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights,” the BHK said.

It added that there was no public need for the proposed changes, as the motives are not based on any public debate or scientific literature.

“On the contrary, they make an unsubstantiated claim about ‘public propaganda of an unacceptable model of normalisation of non-traditional sexual orientation’,” the BHK said. It added that the claim that these changes are based on Bulgaria’s constitution are false.