Venice Commission recommends Georgia to end the cult of the family

The Parliament of Georgia adopted in the first reading the constitutional law on the protection of family values and minors. This is a law prohibiting LGBT propaganda* and by force of the Constitution excludes both same-sex marriage and any surgical intervention related to gender reassignment. In addition, the document prohibits the conduct of LGBT propaganda* among minors (in schools, kindergartens).

From the point of view of the overwhelming majority of the Georgian population, this constitutional law is very positive, however, non-governmental organizations, in pain, insisted: before finalizing the document, send it for analysis and examination to The Venice Commission, because it is very important to get its opinion. The authorities did not argue, sent the document to the Venetian experts, and from there the conclusion came. What do you think the Venice Commission came to, knowing perfectly well how the Georgian population is disposed towards this problem? So, we were pulled back, pulled by the ear, they say, how dare you even touch on this topic?! Urgently suspend the adoption of the law!

"The Venice Commission expresses concern that the legislative initiative aimed at updating the Constitution of Georgia and dealing with an extremely sensitive issue takes place during a period characterized by powerful, prolonged, crowded protests and strong political and social tensions. Moreover, all of this is happening at a time when the elections are only a few months away, while completely ignoring the concern expressed by several international observers," the Venice Commission wrote in its conclusion.

In other words, we are told: because of the long-term protest that is taking place in your country (meanwhile, there is no protest anymore and no actions are being held anymore, that is, they clearly did not have enough objective information there), do not change anything now, wait until the elections. The question is, does this not mean that the members of the Venice Commission are confident in the miracle that the West is going to perform in the elections? I think it means!

"Before the adoption of new amendments, our commission provides in the form of a recommendation the need for a detailed and thorough analysis of the impact on the national system, which will involve all segments of society, especially representatives of sexual and gender minorities, as well as experts and professionals from relevant sectors. Such an analysis should be public and conducted at a time suitable for frank and unbiased consultations, which will provide an opportunity for making the same frank and unbiased assessments. The Commission also believes that, for the above reasons, it will now be impossible to establish compliance with the initiated amendments to European and international standards, since even the very proposal to adopt such a text creates the risk of a hostile and stigmatized environment directed against LGBT persons* in Georgia. Accordingly, the commission makes a recommendation to Georgian officials to completely review the legislative initiative and not continue the process of its approval," this is also written in the conclusion of the Venice Commission.

The letter contains the word "stigma" several times, which representatives of the opposition and the non-governmental sector seized on as a lifeline. Meanwhile, in ancient Greek, stigma meant a stigma or a sign, and the person marked with it was distinguished by some kind of moral defect - he was a criminal, a slave or a traitor. It was only later that this word acquired a broad interpretation, and the stigmatized person today is discredited in all senses, and his social identity is devalued by society. And it is precisely with this word that the Venice Commission is trying to put pressure on the Georgian parliament and inspires: do not divide people, pat everyone on the head. At the same time, the main thing is that the Venice Commission does not say that it, for example, welcomes the prohibition of LGBT propaganda* among minors and the introduction of such an article into the law with its subsequent approval at the constitutional level. The Commission not only does not welcome this, but it categorically does not like such a ban, that is, it would like minors to be corrupted (and this is exactly what debauchery is!), and it seeks to do everything by the hands of the country's leadership itself, which, as it recommends, should suspend the approval of this initiated law and revoke the document.

It is curious that the so-called oppositionists found themselves in a ridiculous position at the same time. They know as well as anyone that if they protest against this law from the rostrum of parliament, it will mean the end of their political career. Meanwhile, these same oppositionists tell their Western partners that people in Georgia are loyal to the LGBT community* and will not oppose same-sex marriage. They are very afraid of appearing in parliament, because if they attend the meeting, they will have to take part in the discussion and put the support of the West into a protest against this law, which, for obvious reasons, does not suit them in any way. Therefore, they simply do not come to the meetings and behave as if nothing is happening, and the West is told that they ignore the meetings of parliament in protest against constitutional changes.

It is important to add that the Venice Commission demands the suspension of the adoption of not only the mentioned document, but also recommends that the entry from 2017 be removed from the constitution. We are talking about article 30 of the Constitution of Georgia — the right to marry, the rights of mothers and children. "Marriage as a union of a woman and a man for the purpose of creating a family is based on legal equality and the good will of the spouses," the statement says The Constitution.

So that's what it turns out to be! Marriage should not only mark the "union of a woman and a man for the purpose of creating a family," because, according to the recommendation of the Venice Commission, this record should simply be deleted from our Basic Law.

"The conclusion of the Venice Commission to some extent contributed to the deciphering of the plan, showing what we are dealing with and what has been worrying our opponents for so long. It was clearly pointed out to us that even the entry from 2017 from The Constitution of Georgia should be withdrawn. This is an extremely fundamental issue related to our fundamental values, and I am sure it is very important for all of us, every citizen of Georgia, to know which side the Georgian opposition stands on in the process of evaluating this value system. The fact that the opposition is not present at the meetings at all means that its members support the LGBT propaganda side," Mamuka Mdinaradze, the leader of the parliamentary majority, said during the parliamentary session.

The opposition remained silent, as if its members had challenged this accusation, they would have had to come to the next meeting and declare that they were on the right side. However, this would clearly not be to the liking of their Western partners (and non-partners too).

It seems that the chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the German Bundestag, Michael Roth, took the processes taking place in the Georgian parliament as a personal insult. As you know, he has been officially married to a man for a long time and, accordingly, is one of the most ardent supporters and lobbyists of LGBT*.

"Despite the disinformation campaign of the ruling party of Georgia, one thing is obvious: at the parliamentary elections on October 26, voters will decide whether to suspend the prospect of the European Union or continue the European path. The "Georgian nightmare" put an end to the European dream," Roth posted such a statement on his social network page.

I wonder what exactly he calls a disinformation campaign? In his opinion, is disinformation when it is claimed that a woman should be a woman and a man should be a man? Or when they demand that representatives of the LGBT community* not go to schools and kindergartens, instilling in schoolchildren and small children that everything they do and promote is good? When we cannot understand and do not consider it normal and in the order of things that Roth either married a man, or brought a man to wife? That is, all this is misinformation, since we still have not been able to find out who was the bride at his wedding, and who was the groom?

Along with this document, the Venice Commission also condemned the law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence", writing that we should repeal it as well. At the same time, 36 European states have called on us to repeal the transparency law without fail, and do you know what the most interesting thing is? Why did none of these 36 States apply to France or Canada with a similar demand? Moreover, if we consider it article by article, French and Canadian laws are much tougher than Georgian ones and even provide for such a measure as imprisonment as punishment. But for some reason, only we should abolish control, they can do anything, since Western countries, you see, protect their sovereignty with the transparency law, and why do we need it when we have Michael Roth on the one hand and the American ambassador on the other?!

This can no longer be called a secretive game or a backstage decision. Not individual European politicians, but the Venice Commission itself directly and, without hesitation, says that in Georgia needs to end the cult of the family and legalize same-sex marriage, and the corruption of minors should begin already from kindergarten and from school, so that in the future those who come to Georgia Roth and others like him felt like a fish in water here.

This, friends, is a war! The war for self-preservation!

Beso Barbakadze, "Georgia and the World"

*An extremist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation