2024-08-08 07:28:38
- Hungary introduced a ban 3 years ago, they wanted to exclude it from the EU
- This is only the third law that has gathered a majority in the 50th National Assembly, MPs and experts warn of chaos with its implementation
- Citizens in protest
- “Masters of the air” released a fabricated news that in the textbook there is an assignment about a boy with two fathers. And “Vazrazhdane” caught on
The “propaganda, popularization or incitement” of “non-traditional sexual orientation” and “determination of gender identity other than biological” in Bulgarian schools and kindergartens is already prohibited by law. It also applies to cases where this happens “indirectly”, as the limitless scope of this concept is not specified in practice.
On Wednesday, the deputies of the 50th National Assembly, who so far have not found a majority on any topic in anticipation of their summer vacation and new elections, surprisingly voted on the text in two readings in one sitting. The amendment is in the Preschool and School Education Act and was submitted by “Vazrazhdane”.
“Non-traditional sexual orientation” has never been defined in Bulgarian legislation. Therefore, “Vazrazhdane” wrote their own interpretation, which states that it is “different from the generally accepted and laid down in the Bulgarian legal tradition concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes”.
Due to the absence of the definition elsewhere, it was included in the transitional and final provisions of the education law. This caused an uproar among MPs from PP-DB and part of GERB, who called for it not to be done. Or at least to allow enough time for changes between first and second reading to clear up the definition, but that never happened.
“Colleagues from “Vazrazhdane”, you are
put into law a definition from “Wikipedia”
Give us a little time to think like legislators”, insisted Petar Kyosev from PP-DB.
“This has nothing to do with the goals of the bill to stop propaganda in schools, and once introduced, this definition applies to all other issues, not only preschool education,” said Georgi Georgiev from GERB. The former head of the Metropolitan Municipal Council, who is an excellent jurist, warned that the parliament is on its way to creating a “precedent for a legal member state of the European Union”. He asked that this be dropped from the law, because
contradicts the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the constitution
In the EU, only Hungary has banned LGBTI+ content for minors and is prosecuting such content. The then Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte (now elected head of NATO), demanded that Hungary be expelled from the European Union.
The text is not precisely written and it is not clear how it will be applied, warned Yavor Bozhankov and former minister Andrey Tsekov from PP-DB. A similar opinion is expressed by experts in social networks. Whether these changes
will affect teachers with “non-traditional sexual orientation” and will there be layoffs
to otherwise good professionals, Tsekov asked. Similar concerns about ambiguities in the text were also expressed by Minister of Education Galin Tsokov during the debates in the line committee.
The law does not specify exactly what is prohibited, but Vazrazhdane states in its reasons that adolescents are more susceptible to propaganda of an “unacceptable model of normalization of non-traditional sexual orientation”.
“The placement of advertising and informational elements propagating similar socio-cultural models,
including in close proximity to educational institutions,
in no way corresponds to the Bulgarian legal tradition”, they write.
That is why a ban was imposed on “carrying out propaganda, promoting or inciting in any way, directly or indirectly, ideas and viewsrelated to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or determination of gender identity other than biological”.
“The very fact that such a bill has been introduced in an EU member state shows that there is a problem with this tolerance or intolerance,” insisted Tervel Georgiev from GERB. He reminded that recently the parliament adopted aggravation of punishments for crimes when they are motivated by hatred because of sexual orientation.
A law like this has existed since 2013 in Russia
of Vladimir Putin – and he will be the first introduced in a country with a European value system and understanding, Georgiev warned. “Whoever has a different sexual orientation has the full tolerance of society, but children are different. They should be left to develop according to God’s laws”, opposes Yordan Tsonev from DPS.
And the BSP warmly embraced the idea. For 5 hours, the chosen ones fought, went on breaks, uttered obscene words from the tribune. Again, foreign embassies and even the children of some MPs were involved. In the end, the law passed with 135 votes “for”, 57 “against” from PP-DB and DPS (plus 6 from GERB) and eight abstentions from GERB.
Prior to this law, the 50th Parliament only fully adopted the changes to the Social Security Code, which stop the draining of the National Insurance Fund with the so-called French unemployment, and one decision for a branch in Taraklia of the University of Rousse. This week
should have banned the sale of vapes
and electronic smoking devices for children, but the law is not on the agenda.
On the other hand, “Masters of the Air” announced that their “troll experiment” had caused “naive politicians to take the bait again like the biggest carp”. They “made” a fake Bulgarian textbook for the 4th grade, in which they wrote a fake task. “In her condition, the main characters were Marty’s two dads. We shared the video of the “textbook” from the “troll” profile, and the other trolls spread it even faster. Our experiment went so far that Mr. Kostadin Kostadinov commented on it from the parliamentary rostrum”, the “Masters” say. The goal was to show how quickly misinformation and propaganda spread.
Citizens, politicians and non-governmental organizations rose up against the law, last night there was a protest in Sofia.
“Homosexuals have always existed and will continue to exist, regardless of what the Bulgarian MP says. It is a pity that capable, principled, working and honest politicians are in short supply”, wrote the chairman of the PP-DB-SS group in SOS Boris Bonev. The law was “another pre-election poll with the hope of getting some votes”.
Asen Alexandrov, Chairman of the Association of Principals in Secondary Education: Parents may sue us if we expel the children
Can parents sue school principals if they have to expel their children from school for being of a different orientation? That’s one of the questions the unclear texts raised, experts said.
If a student under the age of 16 declares that he is of another orientation, what do we do? And so far we have not allowed such propaganda. The amendment will make it difficult for us because, whatever action we take, we could be sued by one side or the other. If, for example, a student comes in indecent clothing that gives the impression of a display of another gender, and we expel him, the parents will sue us. Because we have no such right the director of the 51st SU “Elisaveta Bagryana” Asen Alexandrov commented to “24 Chasa”. He is also the chairman of the association of principals in secondary education.
In fact, what is written in the law does not say exactly what is not allowed. Instructions are required. Otherwise, we will be judged that behavior considered normal by parents, we condemn. The details would make it very difficult for us. We don’t know exactly what to do he wonders.
The director emphasized: I don’t know that there has ever been any kind of propaganda in this direction at school. Anyway, we are a pretty conservative Balkan nation. And thank God! It’s a wobble.
Alexandrov reminded that mobile phones are also prohibited during class. Okay, but we don’t have the right to take the student’s phone. If a student declares that he has the opposite sexual orientation, what should we do?! Especially if he is of compulsory school age up to 16 years.