Speaker of the Republic of Georgia’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced on Thursday that he signed into law a bill defining marriage as between a man and a woman and prohibiting the promotion of same-sex relationships in schools, according to local media.

The legislation states that Georgia recognizes family values of the union of a man and a woman, which are strengthened by the constitutional agreement of the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia and the State of Georgia. While the legislation notes that there are foreign laws that recognize and allow the marriage of same-sex individuals, it stated that these practices ignore the best interests of minors and would be incompatible with the Code of Children’s Rights and several other legal acts aimed at defending children. 

The law defines marriage as the union of one genetic man and woman and prohibits sex-change operations. It also disallows official documents from failing to state the genetic sex of an identity holder, and criminalizes gatherings that aim to promote homosexual marriage.

While the European Commission for Democracy through Law acknowledged that Georgia’s decision to limit marriage to a man and a woman was aligned with Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the commission said that there was no “justification for barring…transsexuals from enjoying the right to marry under all circumstances.” The commission also noted that bans on sex change surgeries violate Article 8 of the ECHR, which allows for the right to respect for private and family life.

In September, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions on 60 Georgians after the Georgian Legislature approved the bill. The 60 Georgians include senior government figures who Blinken said were “responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia.” Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that the country may revise its ties with the US if the US imposes more sanctions on Georgian officials.