Bulgarian Deputies Vote to Prohibit 'LGBTQ+ Topics' in School Curriculum

The Bulgarian Parliament has adopted changes to the Law on School and Pre-School Education, banning the promotion of ideas and views related to "non-traditional sexual orientation or determination of gender identity other than biological."

The debate lasted nearly four hours. In the first reading, out of 171 representatives, 154 voted "in favor," eight "against," and nine abstained. Seven deputies from "We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria" (WCC-DB) and one from GERB voted "against." After the first reading, the deputies proceeded to debates in the second reading, where WCC-DB did not support the bill, and their entire group voted "against."

The parliament adopted a definition stating: "Non-traditional sexual orientation is different from the generally accepted and embedded in the Bulgarian legal tradition concept of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes."

The bill's proponents, the pro-Russian party "Revival" (Vazrazhdane) led by Kostadin Kostadinov, argue that recent public propaganda normalizing non-traditional sexual orientation is unacceptable and contradicts the constitutional provision for marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman.

The bill's proponents claim that promoting socio-cultural models of non-traditional sexual orientation near schools does not align with Bulgarian legal tradition. During the parliamentary committee discussion, the Minister of Education and Science, Galin Tsokov, supported the bill's motives but found the proposed changes "vaguely worded and controversial," which could complicate implementation. Tsokov did not attend today's debates.

The bill aims to start a comprehensive conversation about the educational...