BUCHAREST (Reuters) – Thousands of Romanians joined an LGBTQ pride march in Bucharest on Saturday ahead of planned legislation that could potentially endanger future parades and fuel discrimination.
Parliament’s lower house is expected to start discussing a bill already approved by the Senate which bans so-called gay propaganda in schools, mirroring measures seen in Hungary and Russia.
LGBTQ rights groups have warned the bill discriminates against the minority and could lead to the censorship of movies and news about the LGBT community, as well as restrictions on marches and public events.
An estimated 10,000 people joined the march on Saturday, dancing and waving rainbow flags.
Socially conservative Romania decriminalised homosexuality in 2001, decades later than other parts of the European Union, but bars marriage and civil partnerships for same sex couples.
A blanket ban on gender identity studies in 2020 was ultimately struck down.