Kyrgyzstan to Vote on Harsh 'Homosexual Propaganda' Law Next Month

In a new report from the Daily Beast, members of Kyrgyzstan's parliament will vote on an anti-gay measure next month that the newspaper says is even "harsher" than Russia's highly controversial "homosexual propaganda" law that was approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013.

If Kyrgyzstan's lawmakers do approve the anti-gay bill, it would make LGBT life in the Central Asian country virtually illegal and, Taccording to the Daily Beast, create "calamitous effects on the already besieged LGBT population of this country of just under 6 million."

The website writes that the bill is likely to pass as it was easily approved in its first reading with a 70-to-7 vote and a second vote of 90-to-2. Kyrgyz law states a bill must pass three readings before the president signs it into law. But the Daily Beast notes President Almazbek Atambayev will likely sign the measure as he has Kyrgyzstan and Russia have close relations in recent years.

In 2013 Putin approved the "homosexual propaganda" law, which bans the "promotion" of "non-traditional" relationships among minors. The vague wording has allowed the country to silence LGBT people, activists claim. Many also point to the law as the reason why there is violence against the LGBT community in Russia. Kyrgyzstan's copycat measure seems to go further. According to Human Rights First, an international human-rights watchdog group, the bill would "ban the existence of LGBT organizations, shutter gay clubs, and most notably, could result in one-year prison sentences for those found guilty of propagating non-traditional sexual relations."

The bill would also criminalize all "public expression and events that contain information about 'non-traditional sexual relations.'" Public life for LGBT people would be extremely diminished if the bill is approved.

The Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice urged the bill be withdrawn from parliament in June as it violates the country's constitution, which protects freedom of expression and assembly. But members of parliament ignored the recommendation.

"I loathe [LGBTQ people], they should not eat in the same places we eat at, [or] sit where we rest," MP Baktybek Kalmamatov said, according to the Daily Beast.

The website outlines the violence the LGBT community Kyrgyzstan already face and writes: "The new anti-propaganda bill would only make matters worse. Should it pass, Kyrgyz LGBT people will be denied the chance to speak publicly about the violence they experience-let alone advocate for human rights. "