SOFIA -- Ivan doesn't normally follow parliamentary debates, especially during his vacation.
But on August 7, he was glued to his phone to see how events in the National Assembly, Bulgaria's unicameral parliament, would unfold, as the pro-Russian, far-right Revival party introduced an amendment to ban what it called "LGBT propaganda" in schools.
Ivan, 34, was particularly interested because he's a schoolteacher. But also, because he's gay.
Ivan, who asked RFE/RL to use only his first name, watched with bated breath as the parliament debated and ultimately approved both the amendment and a supplementary one that clarifies what constitutes a "nontraditional sexual orientation." On August 15, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev signed both amendments into law.
Listening to the applause ring around parliament, Ivan says he couldn't believe what had happened. "I was in total shock that this thing was accepted," he told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service. "And I'm still in complete shock."
In a socially conservative society, many LGBT people in Bulgaria face great stigma and keep their sexual identity hidden from their relatives, friends, and employers.
Bulgaria is one of the few countries in the European Union that does not give equal civil rights to homosexual and heterosexual people. Last year, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg obliged Bulgaria to create a legal framework to recognize same-sex relationships, an obligation with which Sofia has not yet complied.
'I Always Tell Them That I Have A Husband'
Ivan, however, is an exception in that he has been open about his sexual orientation for years, including to his colleagues at the junior-high and high schools where he has taught. He has a husband, whom he married in Denmark, and together they have a child.
While he understands that stigma, discrimination, and prejudice exists toward gay people in Bulgaria, Ivan says that for the 11 years he has been teaching math, he has had only one negative incident related to his sexual orientation.
It helps, he says, that his appearance does not align with popular Bulgarian stereotypes of what a gay man looks like. His calm demeanor, openness, and willingness to answer questions about being gay, he says, have also made it easier.
As he wears a ring, he says colleagues and students at the Sofia private school where he works often ask him about his "wife."
"I always tell them I have a husband. It's not something I hide," he said. "The reaction is usually surprise, but nothing more."
But Ivan is worried the tolerance and acceptance he has experienced could change with the amendments to the education law.
"What will happen from now on when they ask me [about my private life]? Do I have the right to tell the truth that I have a husband? Or do I have to lie?" he asked.
Or, he wonders, "If a child says in school that he has two mothers or two fathers, is that a violation of the law? If a principal wants to hire a teacher who is openly gay, is that a violation?"
After the initial shock of the parliamentary vote, Ivan is now preoccupied by such questions. That is partly, he says, due to the ambiguous wording of the law, which has been criticized by lawyers and experts.
"[The amendment] is so general that everything can fall into the category of 'propaganda,'" Ivan says.
Even before the legal amendments went to a vote, Bulgaria's Education Ministry said such vague texts will cause problems because they do not clarify what is permissible and what is not. And on August 8, the National Network for Children (NMD) said in a statement that the vagueness of the amendments means they can be applied in a contradictory and arbitrary way.
Harassment Fears
Ivan also fears LGBT students will face greater harassment as a result of the new law.
In a 2024 study by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 72 percent of surveyed LGBT people from Bulgaria indicated they had been bullied at school based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This, Ivan says, is only likely to get worse.
"The people who harass [LGBT people] will feel even more empowered and protected. By passing [the amendment], it's like saying to them: Keep doing what you're doing," he said.
"Nothing prevents [the new law] from being used as a means of pressure against any person and civil [society] organization," the NMD said in its statement. "Thus, from the new school year, any student, parent, or teacher will be able to be persecuted and humiliated because of a 'different sexual orientation.'"
That could, the children's organization warned, "lead to an increase in cases of violence, suicide, and self-harm."
Ivan also says he is worried that the amendment is a sign that Bulgaria is moving in an antidemocratic direction, following the lead of countries such as Russia and Hungary. Both countries have already passed similar laws, which have been criticized by rights groups for violating freedom of expression and promoting discrimination and abuse against LGBT people.
"What worries me is that I don't know what to expect.... If more things start to happen, more restrictions, it's possible I will start thinking about emigrating," he said. "I've thought about it before, but this affects me very personally."
Ivan is also worried how the legal amendments will affect education in general in Bulgaria. "School is a place where children must learn to think and think critically, " he said. "Therefore, there should be no taboo topics but [instead] multiple points of view."
