Speaker of the Republic of Georgia’s parliament Shalva Papuashvili announced on Thursday that he signed into law a bill aimed at protecting family values and minors from LGBT and homosexual influences, according to local media.

The legislation stated 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 said that there are foreign legislations 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 defined marriage as the union of one genetic man and woman and prohibited medical intervention in sex change operations. It also disallowed official documents from not stating the genetic sex of the identity holder and criminalized gatherings that aimed 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.