Lithuania: legislative proposals to ban “homosexual propaganda”

Legislators have attempted to justify such laws with reference to protecting the morals of minors.

The Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information has been in effect since March 1 of 2010.  This law classifies any information which “denigrates family values” or which “encourages a concept of marriage and family other than stipulated in the Constitution… and the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania” as detrimental to children and as a consequence, bans such information from places accessible to children. The law includes a provision that prohibits spreading information that “promotes sexual relations“.

Homophobic Member of Parliament Petras Grazulis has repeatedly proposed legislative initiatives banning “gay propaganda”, for example in 2012 a proposal for a new article in the Administrative Code entitled “Denigration of constitutional moral values”, aiming at criminalization of a very wide variety of actions and activities e.g. campaigning on human rights issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, providing sexual health information to LGBT individuals, organization of LGBT film festivals, Pride events etc.

Proposals to amend the Administrative Offences Code have been repeatedly submitted, withdrawn, and proposed again with modifications. The most recent ones are draft Article 214(30), entitled “Protection of constitutional moral values”, and draft Article 188(21), entitled “Denigration of constitutional moral values”. Both amendments say that penalties should be provided against the perpetrators of such actions, in the form of fines from 1000 to 6000 LTL (345 to 1740 €).

While the first amendment was rejected in the spring 2012, the second amendment was subject to a parliamentary vote on 5 June 2012. The Parliament recommended that it should be “improved”. On 22 June 2012, the parliamentary party “Order and Justice” proposed a referendum on a law amending article 38 of the Constitution which refers to family. The amendment aims at prohibiting the “propagation of homosexual relations”. It has already been supported by 47 members of the 141-member Parliament.

Lithuanian Gay League, protesting the proposals to ban freedom of expression and assembly for LGBT people, held a press conference and public action with waiving a 30 metres long rainbow flag near the Parliament on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia this year.