GEORGIA

In a move that has drawn international condemnation, the Georgian government passed a package of draconian anti-LGBTQ bills through parliament Sept. 17 in a unanimous vote that was boycotted by the opposition.

The new law, dubbed the Law on Family Values and Protection of Minors, bans recognition of any same-sex relationship, ban adoption by transgender people or non-heterosexuals, ban the promotion of same-sex relationships or LGBTQ identities including through the media or public gatherings, and ban legal gender change or medical interventions for gender reassignment. The bills mirror similar bills passed in Russia, which have led to a serious and escalating crackdown on LGBTQ people.

President Salome Zourabichvili has said she intends to veto the legislation, but the ruling Georgian Dream party has enough votes to override any veto.

Opposition parties have been boycotting parliament since the government passed a “foreign agents” law that requires any organization receiving funds from outside the country to register as an agent of a foreign power. Critics said that the bill was a clear mechanism to defund or discredit the opposition, the media, and the nongovernmental organizations.

Both the foreign agent law and the anti-LGBTQ law had already drawn criticism from the international community, but the passage of the anti-LGBTQ law brought a new round of diplomatic condemnation.

The U.S. announced financial sanctions and travel bans on dozens of Georgian leaders it says are complicit “undermining democracy” and “serious human rights abuse.”

The EU had already frozen accession talks with Georgia after the foreign agents bill was passed. This week, it announced it was considering removing access to visa-free travel to the EU for Georgian citizens.

The U.N. Human Rights Office also called on the Georgian government to rescind the law.

“We are deeply concerned that this law may encourage hate speech, lead to more incidents of violence, and reinforce stigma, intolerance and misinformation,” spokesperson Liz Throssell said in a statement.

That statement proved to be sadly prophetic. The day after parliament voted to pass the anti-LGBTQ legislation, Georgia’s most prominent trans woman was murdered in her home.

Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was a model and social media influencer. She was found dead in her apartment after neighbors heard screams. A 26-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the crime.

“Horrifying murder! Rejection of humanity! This should be a sobering call … Hatred drenched in hatred, which weakens and divides us and gives a hand to an enemy to manipulate us,” Zourabichvili wrote on her personal Facebook page. “I hope the death of this beautiful young woman will make us more humane, more Christian. I hope this tragedy will not be in vain.”

The new laws come as the small country located in the Caucasus Mountains gears up for elections on Oct. 26. Georgian Dream looks set to capture the largest share of votes according to polls, but the opposition parties are mostly aligned on the goal of restoring democratic norms if they can form a majority coalition.

EUROPEAN UNION

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced her intention to ban so-called “conversion therapy” across the EU in a mandate letter sent to the new EU Commissioner for Equalities this week.

The letter to Hadja Lahbib, who also serves as Belgium’s minister of foreign affairs, directs her to “propose a new LGBTIQ Strategy for post-2025. The strategy should notably focus on the continued and persisting hate-motivated harassment and violence, including online, and banning the practice of conversion therapy.”

It is not immediately clear how von der Leyen or Lahbib envision a conversion therapy ban – either through EU-wide legislation or by encouraging member states to ban it individually.

Of the EU’s 27 member states, eight already ban conversion therapy in local law: Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, France, and Belgium. Bans have also been proposed in Ireland, Netherlands, Austria, and Finland, but legislation in all four states has stalled.

At the same time, several EU member states have passed or introduced legislation to restrict freedom of expression for LGBTQ people, calling it “LGBT propaganda,” including Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Lithuania.

CANADA

Dueling protests for and against LGBTQ-inclusive sex education took place across Canada on Sept. 20 with rallies across the country timed as some provinces head toward local elections.

Anti-LGBTQ groups calling themselves Hands Off Our Kids and 1 Million March 4 Children coordinated the anti-sex education protests, as they did last year. Protests were reported in more than a dozen cities across Canada; including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Moncton, Saskatoon, and Ottawa.  

Right-wing media in Canada breathlessly reported Hands Off Our Kids’ estimate that up to two million people — about 5 percent of all Canadians — would participate in the protests. As it turned out, most of the anti-sex education protests saw fewer than 100 participants, and according to reports, all of them were outnumbered by pro-LGBTQ counter-protesters.

Unlike last year’s protests, there were no reports of violence or arrests.

The protests come at a pivotal time for LGBTQ issues in Canadian schools.

In Alberta, the conservative provincial government is planning to introduce legislation in the fall that would require schools to notify parents and obtain their consent if a student chooses to use a different name or pronoun, restrict trans students’ access to school sports and bathroom facilities, require parental notification and consent before any sex education or LGBT issues are discussed in classrooms, and ban gender care for youth under age 16.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also said that after the legislation passes, her party would welcome back lawmaker Jennifer Johnson, who had been booted from caucus after remarks she had made comparing trans students in schools to adding a teaspoon of feces to a batch of cookies.

Three provinces will hold elections in October, in which LGBTQ classroom issues are in the balance. In New Brunswick and Saskatchewan — which go to the polls Oct. 21 and 28, respectively — incumbent conservative governments are defending recently enacted policies that require schools to out trans students to their parents and restrict sex education.

In British Columbia, the opposite is happening. An incumbent New Democratic government is defending its SOGI-123 curriculum that teaches children about inclusion, consent, and health issues in age-appropriate ways, while the opposition BC Conservatives want to scrap it.

Polls in all three provinces indicate very tight races. Earlier this year, a conservative government in Manitoba was defeated after it announced plans to introduce a parental notification and consent law for trans students.

TAIWAN

In a bit of uplifting news, Taiwan announced this week that it would finally remove an administrative roadblock that prevented Taiwanese citizens from marrying a same-sex partner from mainland China.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Taiwan since 2019, but the government refused to recognize same-sex marriages between Taiwanese and Chinese nationals, due to security concerns and the island’s complicated relationship with the mainland.

Taiwanese who wish to marry a Chinese national must typically marry in China and await an interview by Taiwanese authorities before their relationship is recognized and their partner is granted residency rights on the island. But because China does not recognize same-sex marriage, that’s impossible.

In August, a Taiwanese court ordered the government to begin the interview process for a cross-strait couple who married in the United States. This week, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council announced that it would comply with the decision and recognize cross-strait same-sex marriages performed in any third country where same-sex marriage is legal.

That still presents a roadblock for some couples, as they must travel to a third country to marry. For now, the nearest places for most same-sex couples to travel would be the US territory of Guam or Australia. Thailand is expected to begin performing same-sex marriages next year.

Additionally, cross-strait same-sex couples may still face an administrative burden in settling in Taiwan, as the Chinese partner must cancel their mainland residency before receiving a Taiwanese ID — the last stage in the process. It’s not clear if China will allow its nationals to cancel their residency, as the government will not recognize their same-sex marriages.