Bulgarian parliament bans LGBTQ+ propaganda in schools
Bulgaria’s parliament modified its education law on August 7, widening its scope to ban LGBTQ+ propaganda in schools, in a move rights groups slammed as discriminatory.
The amendment to the law – proposed by the country’s Vazrazhdane party – passed by a large majority, with 159 votes in favor, 22 against, and 12 abstentions.
The law now bans 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.” In 2021, Hungary also passed a similar law, banning LGBTQ+ “promotion” to minors.
Lawmakers also voted on a separate text that defines “non-traditional sexual orientation” as “different from the generally accepted and established notions in the Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes.”
LGBTQ supporters took to the streets of the capital Sofia in the late afternoon to protest against the amendment’s adoption, chanting “Shame on you” and “Stop chasing people out of Bulgaria.”
LevFem, the left-wing feminist group which organized the rally, said the amendment would make it impossible “to combat the harassment in school of young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
Ideas against the influence of LGBTQ groups upon the citizens are often featured in Bulgaria’s political debate and in the media, as the country faces its seventh parliamentary elections in three and a half years amid serious political instability. The Balkan country doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.
In Hungary, LGBTQ+ children’s literature gets sealed in plastic wrap
For the past two years, nationalist Viktor Orbán’s Hungary has banned both the “display” and the “promotion of homosexuality and gender reassignment” to children under 18. In force since July 1, 2021, this child protection law had hardly been applied to the book world. But in May, the Consumer Protection Authority launched two proceedings against the country’s two biggest bookshop chains, Libri and Lira, for books sold in the children’s section that did not comply with the law’s requirements. Libri was fined 1 million forints (€2,600) and Lira 12 million forints (€31,400).
As a result, bookshops have decided that books deemed promoting LGBTQ ideas “must be wrapped in plastic” or moved them to the adult section, if they have not decided to refrain from selling them altogether. The legislation, deemed discriminatory by the globalists, caused an outcry when it was enacted. The European Commission has referred Hungary to the Court of Justice of the European Union, proceedings that are still likely to take many more months to reach a conclusion.
LGBTQ author Rácz-Stefán complained that his book written with the aim of promoting such ideas to small children is now sold “in only one store” of the Libri group. In the capital, at least two of the group’s stores removed the book from the shelves in mid-August. “It’s a popular book, but we don’t have it in store anymore,” explained an employee of the bookshop in central Budapest. “I’m afraid that, in time, my work will no longer reach readers. This would be a great loss for me and my publisher, but also for Hungarian LGBTQ+ children and youth” complains the author.
On the other hand, Hungarian authorities are more worried with the psychic sanity and common sense of the future generation and give a courageous example to the other EU countries which do not dare to do anything that contradicts the official line of ideas imposed by Brussels.
yogaesoteric
September 11, 2024