Bulgaria: Law Bans LGBT Propaganda in Education

The amendment was proposed by the Vazrazhdane (Revival) party and forbids the “propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, in the education system of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one,” Euronews notes.

“Members of parliament approved the draft law with a large majority, giving it 159 votes in favour, 22 against, and 12 abstentions,” the same news agency reports. They defined “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “contrary to Bulgaria's legal concept of ‘emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes’.”

According to InfoCatólica, “two parties voted en bloc against the law: the PP-DB (We Continue the Change—Democratic Bulgaria, member of the European People’s Party, with 33 seats) and the DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms, member of the center-left group Renew Europe, with 18 seats). The law united the rest of the parliamentary spectrum.

“In a statement, the Revival party affirmed that the law should have ‘a positive impact’ and ‘strengthen the traditional Christian values of family, love, and respect,’ in line with Bulgaria’s cultural, educational, and legal tradition.

“’What they have been trying to impose for decades has simply failed in Bulgaria. Bulgaria has thus set a positive example that other countries will soon be able to follow,’ the party’s chairman, Kostadin Kostadinov, stated.”

According to Euronews, “The wording of the law is reminiscent of Russian and Hungarian anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda laws, according to Forbidden Colours [...] In 2021, the Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party amended its law on paedophilia and on the protection of children to limit their exposure to material ‘promoting homosexuality’, gender reassignment, and LGBT representation in the media or public space.”

This vote only approved a draft bill, but the results suggest that the amendment will soon be adopted. With that in mind, calls to the European Union have been frenetic on the part of LGBT associations and the chorus of Western media outlets that insinuate that the law capitalized on the widespread outrage over the scandal of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris.

This upheaval shows how necessary this law is: it protects children whom some would like to be able to indoctrinate into depravity and the sin of ignominy, in the name of “human rights,” against their parents’ will: in Bulgaria, the population is largely opposed to this propaganda, but it seems that parents should only have the right to remain silent.