Regional council in Western Ukraine made headlines Friday after staging a vote voicing support to  a draft law set to bring curbs on ‘homosexuality propaganda’.

It is not the first time local councils in Rivne region lash out at sexual minority groups. Back in 2019, Rivne local council caught media attention after it moved to  ban a local Pride Parade event.

The draft law #6327 brought in Ukraine’s parliament earlier this year seeks to make a fineable offense any act or event the authorities deem to promote ‘pedophilia, homosexuality or gender transition’.

According to the proposed policy, ‘public demonstration of relations having sexual character between persons of the same sex, as well as production, distribution and showing of films featuring such scenes’ will be punished with fines ranging from 17 to 85 thousand hryvnas.

Such legislative initiatives violate Ukraine’s Constitution and European Convention on human rights, says Andriy Kravhchuk of Nash Svit watchdog group, adding that the scandalous draft law is a ‘copy-paste’ of Russia ‘gay propaganda law’.

Back in 2020, two lawmakers of Servant of the People party came up with the similar legislative initiative but following the fallout  their draft law was scrapped.