SOFIA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Bulgarian National Assembly, the country's parliament, on Wednesday prohibited the promotion of "non-traditional sexual orientation" in schools and kindergartens.
The ban, proposed by the 38-seat-strong Revival party as part of changes to the country's Preschool and School Education Act, was backed by 135 legislators in the 240-member parliament, with 57 voted against it and eight abstained.
The ban will prohibit propaganda, promotion or incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity determination differing from biological sex.
The legislators specified that "non-traditional sexual orientation" was any perception of emotional, romantic, sexual or sensual attraction to persons of the same sex or even a combination of sexes, different from the generally accepted and established norms of Bulgarian legal tradition.
However, this ban is not universally welcomed by Bulgarian society. Earlier on Wednesday, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, a non-governmental nonprofit civil society organization for defending fundamental human rights, sent a letter to the parliament saying that the bill was unclear and violated basic human rights, including those protected by the Constitution. ■
