Georgia: Parliament passed the draconian anti-LGBT law in a unanimous vote that was boycotted by the opposition. The president has said she will veto it, but the government will likely override the veto. This is all positioning ahead of October 26 elections. The bill has been criticized by international organizations including the EU, which has already suspended accession negotiations with the country.
European Union: The EU is seeking to ban conversion therapy across the union as part of its new LGBTQ+ Equality Plan. It’s not clear how they intend to pursue this – by EU legislation or encouraging member states to ban it on their own. The news reports are only basing this on the mandate letter (PDF) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent to the new Equalities Commissioner director her to come up with a new LGBTQ+ Equalities Strategy that includes banning conversion therapy.
Conversion therapy has already been banned in Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, France, and Belgium, while a ban has been proposed in Ireland, Netherlands, Austria, and Finland (though it’s unlikely to pass anytime soon in the latter three, but see below).
Austria: Elections are coming up next Sun, Sept 29. Currently, the far-right Freedom Party is polling in the lead, though far from a majority, and the other parties are unlikely to join them in a coalition.
Polling suggests left-leaning, pro-LGBT parties may take a hit this year. But polls also suggest that a performance art “Beer Party” could win a seat in parliament, so who knows?
Anything could happen on Sunday, but I would guess the most likely outcome is some grand coalition of the center-leaning parties though they’re ideologically inconsistent and don’t tend to get along.
In the event a “grand coalition” is formed, its possible that some anodyne pro-LGBT legislation (banning conversion therapy, for example, or expanding anti-discrimination law to cover housing, goods and services) is written into the coalition agreement, but if it isn’t, don’t expect any progress for the next four years.
Russia: Meanwhile, the leaked info on Russia’s disinformation war against Western countries shows that fomenting anti-LGBT prejudice through social media has been a key strategy of Russian influence operations, to bolster far-right parties that they think will be more supportive of Russia.
Ukraine: The city of Kharkiv had its Pride event this past weekend, just thirty miles from the border with Russia.
Bulgaria: A survey shows mixed opinions, and low overall information, about so-called “LGBT propaganda” in schools.
Namibia: The backbencher who introduced the anti-same-sex marriage and anti-LGBT rights bills that passed parliament last summer wants to know why the president hasn’t signed them into law.
The likely answer is that they’re unconstitutional and would create legal chaos and diplomatic problems.
Namibia’s next election is in two months.