Georgia’s ruling party introduces draft legislation curtailing LGBTQ+ rights

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s ruling party has introduced draft legislation curtailing LGBTQ+ rights. The proposals by the Georgian Dream are similar to laws enacted in Russia and come on the heels of the authorities adopting another law critics denounced as borrowed from Moscow’s playbook — the “foreign influence” law. It ignited weeks of mass protests and was widely criticized as threatening democratic freedoms and jeopardizing Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union. If adopted, the bill will ban same-sex marriages, gender-affirming care, adoption by same-sex couples, and depiction of same-sex relations in the media. Russia has similar regulations on the books.