Lithuanian lawmakers will vote today on a bill that would outlaw gay pride parades, public speeches in support of LGBTI rights, gay rights campaign materials and audio-visual materials in support of the rights of LGBTI people.
The bill would make such actions an administrative offense with fines of between $US400 to $US1200, and $US1200 to $US2500 for subsequent offenses.
The bill was introduced by Order and Justice Party MP Petras Gražulis in response to a Baltic March for Equality in the capital Vilnius in July last year.
Gražulis said the bill was necessary because of ‘current weaknesses of the Lithuanian legal system, when promotion of the harmonious, traditional family values is often estimated as unfounded and illegal discrimination against sexual minorities for their sexual orientation.’
The Order and Justice Party are part of a governing coalition headed by the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, led by Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius.
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