At a lecture held at the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party on March 25, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the legislative majority in Georgia, announced that two draft legal regulations on the “protection of family values and minors” would be introduced.
According to Mdinaradze, an amendment to Article 30 of the Georgian Constitution, which defines the rights of mothers and children, will be presented to Parliament. He proposes that a new article be added to Article 30 to ensure “the constitutional law will guarantee the protection of family values and minors.”
Mdinaradze also outlined the principles of the proposed legal reforms:
- The law would only permit the union of a physically adult and genetically sexual partners who are at least 18 years old, in a marriage-like relationship.
- Only spouses who are married in accordance with the Georgian Constitution and laws, or a heterosexual person, would be eligible to adopt or foster a minor.
- Any medical procedure related to altering a person’s sex is prohibited.
- The document issued by the state or local self-government should only include the female or male sex that corresponds to his or her biology.
- Any attempt by an authority or individual to restrict the use of terms defining sex is null and void.
- Events aimed at promoting same-sex family or personal relationships, incest, adoption or foster care of a minor by a same-sex couple or a non-heterosexual person, medical interventions related to gender reassignment, or the non-use of gender-specific terminology are prohibited.
- Distributing materials with content aimed at promoting same-sex family or intimate relationships, incest, adoption or foster care of a minor by a same-sex couple or non-heterosexual person, medical intervention related to gender reassignment, or the non-use of gender-specific terminology is prohibited.
- Providing information during the educational process of a public or private educational institution intended to promote same-sex families or intimate relationships, incest, adoption or foster care of a minor by a same-sex couple or non-heterosexual person, medical care related to gender reassignment, or the non-use of gender concepts is prohibited.
Additionally, Mdinaradze stated that several dozen laws will be introduced in the near future, along with relevant and more concrete legislative changes. He declared that the proposed amendments would fully align with the current Constitution, noting that further amendments would also be introduced after the current ones.
Mdinaradze believes that the opposition will not support the constitutional amendment and the constitutional law, although he anticipates that they will be approved at the next Parliament convocation in October.
This announcement of plans for constitutional legislation to protect family values and the rights of minors comes weeks after the ruling majority announced its plans for it, following Mdinaradze’s earlier announcement that the ruling majority would draft an “anti-LGBT propaganda” law. The ruling majority had initially announced that it would not draft the anti-constitutional law, in response to accusations that such a law would violate the Constitution, and instead opted to propose these amendments.
Constitutional laws are a fundamental component of the Georgian Constitution but are not directly incorporated into the Constitution’s text. To adopt such a law, 3/4 (113 votes) of the MPs must vote in its favor. If at least two-thirds of the full composition of the parliament (100 votes) support the changes, then the next Parliament’s support will also be required, with no less than 100 votes, to pass the law.
