“There is a very long time to go before we become EU members, and if the United National Movement were in power at that time, we would, of course, oppose the issue of same-sex marriage,” stated Levan Sanikidze, member of the United National Movement opposition party.

According to him, there is no unified position on same-sex marriage amongst EU member states.

“There are states that share the decision, and there are those who don’t. I personally don’t share it, since it contradicts my principles, my moral, ethical, and religious principles,” Levan Sanikidze stated.

Asked why he criticised the government when it adopted the family values protection law, the UNM member declared that “our Constitution resolves this issue.”

“Georgia’s Constitution guarantees that marriage is a voluntary union between a woman and a man. Women and men are specified, and the gender issue is protected, which is shared by the critical majority of our society. Accordingly, this issue is eliminated. Our team has formed the view that Georgians have the capacity and standing to ensure that our families don’t need protecting by Georgian Dream dignitaries.

I believe Georgian spouses will be able to safeguard their values and family traditions without Irakli Kobakhidze’s interference. We believe that in this country, this issue cannot be placed on the agenda, given society’s conservative approaches and the traditional values that society holds, particularly as an explanation regarding marriage exists in Georgia’s Constitution. The institution of the family and our traditional values provide us with absolute security, and therefore, the protection of Georgian families by Zaza Saralidze is unnecessary. Georgian families are sufficiently resilient to protect themselves,” Levan Sanikidze stated.

Asked whether, if the EU demanded that Georgia allow same-sex marriage, Levan Sanikidze says that if the United National Movement were in power at such a time, “we would be against it.”

“Even today, you can see Poland’s approach and that of several states that don’t agree with this. There’s a very long time before we become EU members, and if the United National Movement were in power at that time, we would, of course, be opponents of this topic.

This law was enacted for propaganda purposes, with the primary goal of consistently distracting us by focusing on a topic that does not pose a threat to Georgians. For Georgian families, a far greater danger is that the majority of Georgian mothers are forced to emigrate than that someone will be forcibly married off in this country. The main purpose of this law isn’t protecting our fellow citizens’ interests but using it for propaganda purposes,” Levan Sanikidze stated.

The European Union Court of Justice has ruled that EU countries must recognise same-sex marriages between EU citizens that are legally performed in other EU member states.