Members of the ruling party, Amanat, namely Yedil Zhanbirshin, and Samat Musabayev, have submitted a proposal to the Majilis to introduce criminal sanctions for the propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations as reported by Vlast.kz.
The proposed amendment has been incorporated into the legislative proposal titled “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts on Mass Media.” It suggests an addition to Part 1 of Article 174 of the Criminal Code, pertaining to “Incitement to social, national, tribal, racial, class, or religious discord,” by including provisions specifically on the spread of propaganda on non-traditional sexual relations.
Moreover, the deputies suggest amending the law “On the Procedure for Organizing and Conducting Peaceful Assemblies” to explicitly state that “propagation of non-traditional sexual relations” may serve as grounds for local authorities to deny permission for organizing a rally or picket.
To back up their proposals, the deputies referenced Article 1 of the Code on Marriage and the Family, whereby it states, ‘Under marriage, the current legislation of Kazakhstan recognises an equal union between a man and a woman’. Hence, according to representatives of the ruling party of Kazakhstan, for Kazakh society, the traditional family is defined as the marital union between a man and a woman, who are considered the sole entities capable of both procreation and adoption.
Importantly, Part 1 of Article 174 of the Criminal Code stipulates penalties ranging from fines of 2,000 to 7,000 MCI, or restriction of liberty for 2 to 7 years, as well as imprisonment for the same duration.
While this draft law is still only a proposal, it recalls the Russian campaign the Kremlin utilised to demonise the LGBTQ community in Russia. Additionally, on April 5th deputies of the Majilis, also from the Amanat party proposed an amendment to the law “On Mass Media”, to establish a ban on writing about LGBT individuals and groups on the media.
