Georgia’s ruling party on Monday introduced a bill curtailing LGBT rights, a move seen by opponents as an attempt to boost its popularity ahead of elections in the conservative South Caucasus country, a candidate for European Union membership. The draft law would ban sex changes and adoption by same-sex couples, as well as prohibiting “gatherings aimed at popularising same-sex family or intimate relationships”, according to a summary published by the Georgian Dream party. Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the party’s parliamentary caucus and a driving force behind the bill, said the law was necessary to protect “family values and our future generations” from what he called “pseudo-liberal values”.