Tbilisi’s ruling Georgian Dream party has taken a curious position to justify its proposal for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the former Soviet republic. Reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In most countries, opponents of same-sex marriage base their arguments on religious doctrine, tradition, parenting concerns, or moral arguments.
But Irakli Kobakhidze, Georgia’s parliamentary speaker and head of the state constitutional commission, says Georgian Dream mainly wants to amend the constitution’s definition of marriage to prevent “certain groups” from stirring up homophobic and anti-Western sentiment.
Kobakhidze made the remarks in testimony to Georgia’s parliamentary committee for human rights and civil integration.
“We do respect the rights and interests of every group, including minorities,” Kobakhidze told the committee on June 8. “Accordingly, this amendment won’t become grounds for discrimination.”
But Beka Gabadadze, a gay rights activist with the Tbilisi-based LGBTQI Association Temida, says Georgian Dream lawmakers are responsible for stirring up homophobia by campaigning for the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
“It’s political homophobia itself,” Gabadadze told RFE/RL. “Georgian Dream includes conservative politicians who are homophobic themselves. The chairman of the parliament is afraid to admit that they are homophobic and are trying to pass homophobic laws.”