According to the 2021 International Social Survey Programme (ISSIP) study, 84% of the Georgian public thinks that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are always wrong, which is the highest score in Europe.
Still, freedom of same-sex sexual activity was not officially enshrined in the law until 2000, when the Georgian Government put in place an amended criminal code to meet the standards set forth by the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights.
[11] In 2013, a leader of the Christian-Democratic Movement Giorgi Targamadze first floated idea of amending the Constitution in order to bring it in line with the Civil Code's definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman.
In November, 2015, Zviad Tomaradze, head of the conservative organization Georgia's Demographic Society XXI, prepared the draft bill to amend the Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
The proposal caused a backlash from Georgian civil society and human rights organizations, which assailed the legislation as way of politicizing this sensitive issue and capitalizing on popular societal prejudices.
[18] According to the amended Georgian Criminal Code (since 2012), committing crimes against individuals based on sexual orientation, among other things, is an aggravating factor that should result in tougher sentences during prosecution.
: diskriminatsiis qvela pormis aghmopkhvris shesakheb) reads as follows:[22] The present law aims to eliminate any form of discrimination and to censure equal enjoyment of the rights set forth by the legislation of Georgia for all natural and legal persons regardless of race, color, language, sex, age, nationality, origin, place of birth, residence, property or title, national, ethnic or social belonging, profession, marital status, health condition, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, political or other beliefs or other basis.The adoption of the anti-discrimination law was recommended by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Country Progress Report 2013 for Georgia as a prerequisite for finalizing the Visa Liberalization Action Plan between Georgian and the European Union.
[29] Leader of the United National Movement party Mikheil Saakashvili condemned both pro-LGBT and anti-LGBT demonstrators, accusing them of being controlled by State Security Service.
[34] In response to claims of censorship by the opposition, Shalva Papuashvili clarified that art, fiction, or cinema involving intimate scenes would be allowed, but would be restricted to minors under the age of 18.
Papuashvili emphasized that the law is "based on common sense, historical experience, and centuries-old Christian, Georgian, and European values rather than being shaped by temporary ideologies".
The march was discontinued soon after it started, however, because the marchers claimed they were assaulted by religious counter-demonstrators, including representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church and radical Christian groups.
Protestors carried images of Jesus and signs reading "Stop promoting homosexual propaganda in Georgia" and "We don't need Sodom and Gomorrah."
According to the Georgian Young Lawyers Association, however, the state "failed to ensure conduct of the scheduled event ... and thus [the] rights of rally participants to assembly and manifestation were grossly violated."
Observers indicated that the police allowed Orthodox clergymen and other demonstrators to enter the barricaded area and were, in private communications, cynical and humiliating to the rally participants.
Civil society organisations including the Open Society Georgia Foundation, Human Rights Education and the Monitoring Center and Georgian Young Lawyer's Association called upon law enforcers to "take adequate measures to secure security of participants in peaceful assembly", and said that "It's the State's obligation to ensure timely and adequate protection [of Tbilisi Pride participants] from possible violence".
Some of them came out to celebrate "Family Purity Day", a holiday created by the Georgian Orthodox Church in 2014, a year after thousands of people led by priests attacked several dozen LGBT rights demonstrators in the city.
On 2 July 2022, a LGBT pride festival was held on a private property in Tbilisi, which faced significant opposition from the far-right groups, but the police blocked them from reaching the area.
The protesters demanded the US Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan, and the head of the EU mission Carl Hartzell, to leave the country and apologize for supporting the Tbilisi Pride.
President Salome Zurabishvili and others criticized the authorities for their handling of the situation and their alleged failure to address public incitement of violence against LGBT+ activists leading up to the protests.
In terms of transphobia, sex constitutes a significant predictor: men were more inclined to express negative attitudes towards transgender and gender non-conforming persons than women.
Homo/bi/transphobic attitudes were largely determined by respondents' perceptions of traditional gender roles, and the level of right-wing authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism (the degree of influence evidently varies among individual groups).
Respondents ranking high on the right-wing authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism scales far more frequently exhibited negative attitudes towards LGBT community members.
[80] In October 2017, Georgian football player Guram Kashia expressed support for LGBT rights, appearing at a match in the Netherlands with a rainbow armband as part of National Coming Out Day.
Far-right groups held rowdy protests and violent riots in front of the Georgian Football Federation, demanding Kashia's expulsion from the national team.
Kakha Kaladze, a retired footballer, former Deputy Prime Minister and newly elected Mayor of Tbilisi, expressed support for Kashia, saying: "We are a democratic country.
"[83] In the October 2017 local elections, Nino Bolkvadze, an openly gay candidate, ran for a Tbilisi City Assembly seat as a member of the Republican Party.
[86] In December 2018, Beso Danelia, a politician from the conservative party Democratic Movement – United Georgia who used a homophobic slur against Levan Berianidze, an LGBT rights activist, on TV, was issued a fine of ₾1 ($0.37) by the Tbilisi City Court.
Berianidze, who heads the local LGBT rights group Equality Movement, claimed Danelia insulted them and then tried to physically attack him but was held back by staff at the television company.
[87] In December 2018, the Tbilisi City Court ruled in the case of a 15-year-old boy who had attacked an LGBT rights activist on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
According to the 2021 study by International Social Survey Programme (ISSIP), 84% of the Georgian public thinks that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex are always wrong, which is the highest score in Europe.