Protests erupt as Bulgaria passes “Don’t Say Gay” law backed by pro-Russia politicians

The Bulgarian parliament voted to enact a law prohibiting the “propaganda” of “non-traditional” sexual orientation and gender identity in schools last Wednesday. Their vote triggered mass protests and public opposition.

The proposed law states, “It is the educational function of the Bulgarian school that such a state institution should not be allowed to promote or incite, in any way, directly or indirectly, ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or identification of gender identity other than that which is biological.”

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Bulgaria bans LGBTQ+ “propoganda” in schools

The gay rights group Deystvie said that “Bulgaria is following in Russia’s footsteps.”

The law, an amendment to the Pre-School and School Education Law, emerged after the 17-member Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science overwhelmingly approved it. The committee’s approval led to a four-hour debate last Wednesday that culminated in the bill passing through parliament. This bill was proposed previously, however, it failed in committee.

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Of the 240 parliament members, 159 voted in favor of the first section of the bill, while 22 voted against and 13 abstained. For the section defining “non-traditional sexual orientation,” 135 voted for it, 57 against, and 8 abstained. Members of the more liberal parties were unable to vote for the first section for unknown reasons.

The law was especially popular among the increasingly politically dominant pro-Kremlin Revival/Vazrazhdane Party, which was the party to introduce it.

Parliament member Kostadin Kostadinov said on the debate floor, “We have a problem and it is very big. Now we will nip it in the bud so that no one can ever, in any way, try to do what they do to children in other countries. It is not humane and it is anti-human to promote unconventional sexual education in schools. It’s an anti-human ideology. And with this small text in the law, we will bury and liquidate this ideology in the bud.”

This bill has met a great deal of opposition both within the government and beyond.

Yavor Bozhankov, of the We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria party, said on the debate, “This bill that you propose is only pre-election populism, ugly homophobia and ugly division in society. Our PG will remain a defender of parliamentary practice that bills should not be passed in this way. Do not be a victim of the pro-Russian ‘Revival.’”

Michael O’Flaherty, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the European Union, said on X, “Deeply concerned by the recent law passed by #Bulgaria’s Parliament to ban so-called #LGBTI ‘progaganda’ in schools. I call on [President Rumen Radev] not to sign it. Authorities should tackle discrimination and hostile rhetoric against LGBTI people incl. in the run-up to elections.”

Deeply concerned by the recent law passed by #Bulgaria's Parliament to ban so-called #LGBTI 'progaganda' in schools.
I call on @PresidentOfBg Radev not to sign it.
Authorities should tackle discrimination and hostile rhetoric against LGBTI people incl. in the run-up to elections.

— Commissioner for Human Rights (@CommissionerHR) August 12, 2024

Over 7,000 citizen signatures and nearly 80 non-governmental organizations were sent to the government to plead that Bulgarian President Rumen Radev does not sign this bill.

Belgian LGBTQ+ rights organization Forbidden Colors said in a statement, “It is deeply troubling to see Bulgaria adopting tactics from Russia’s anti-human rights playbook. Such actions are not only regressive but are also in direct contradiction to the values of equality and non-discrimination that the European Union stands for.”

A protest was announced the same day in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Since then, there’s been widespread protests throughout the capital and Varna, a port city. There have also been petitions sent to the Bulgarian government asking them to oppose the measure.

The bill defines “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and the concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposites.” Bulgarian news site Clubz, as well as Parliament member Eleonora Belobradova claimed that this section of the bill was actually copy/pasted from the Bulgarian Wikipedia.

Additionally, the bill only recognizes “biological sex,” completely writing trans people out of the law and ignoring intersex individuals entirely.

Government workers aren’t entirely clear on how they’re supposed to enforce this law either. The chairman of the Association of Secondary Education Principals, Asen Alexandrov, said to Bulgarian news outlet Blitz, “We are worried because it is not clear how exactly to apply the legal changes.”

“If a high school student declares to his classmates that he has a different sexual orientation, what do we do? If someone else makes fun of such children, what do we do? If we protect them, does that mean we are propagating this orientation?” he asked.

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