Why did Bulgaria just ban LGBTQ+ curriculum in schools?

In a majority vote, the Bulgarian parliament has passed a significant amendment prohibiting the promotion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools and laying out a clear definition of the concept of "nontraditional sexual orientation".

The lawmakers of the EU member state approved the amendment to the Law on Preschool and School Education with 154 votes. Only 17 parliamentarians voted against it or abstained.

The amendment makes it illegal to teach students "propaganda, promotion, or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, within the education system, of ideas and views related to nontraditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one".

The Bulgarian decision comes on top of similar prohibitions introduced by Hungary and several other countries where parents have expressed unease at the teaching of LGBTQ+-related topics in schools without their consent.

And it's not just the eastern European country like Bulgaria that has taken note of the growing LGBTQ+ influence over the education system. Nearly a hundred people including parents protested outside Birchfields Primary School in Manchester, UK, last year, saying they don't want their kids to be exposed to LGBTQ+ material.

'Don't touch the children'

After the law was passed, Korneliya Ninova, the president of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, said, "Don't touch the children. Stay away from Bulgarian children."

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church welcomed the parliament's decision, saying it was pleased to see that action has been taken against indoctrination that seeks to promote the concept of genders other than biological sex among pre-schoolers.

LGBTQ+ curriculum is of particular concern for Christian and Muslim parents who say they don't want their children to be exposed to such ideas at such an early age.

Last year, parents and family members of elementary schoolchildren in Maryland's Montgomery County Public Schools in the US lobbied hard to force authorities to drop forced lectures on transgenderism to kids as young as 7.

In a related vote, the Bulgarian parliament also passed another amendment defining "nontraditional sexual orientation" as "different from the generally accepted and established notions in Bulgarian legal tradition of emotional, romantic, sexual, or sensual attraction between persons of opposite sexes".

Both the amendments and their language reflect the spirit of Bulgaria's constitution, which stipulates that marriage must be between a man and a woman and aligns with the country's Christian Orthodox values, officials said.