MPs voted 90-2 to move the bill forward despite international criticism and opposition from the country’s Ministry of Justice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kyrgyzstan's President Almazbek Atambayev during a Kremlin reception on May 9, 2015.
RIA Novosti / Reuters
Lawmakers in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan moved a Russian-style bill banning "gay propaganda" one step closer to becoming law in a 90-2 vote.
The text of the bill, which passed its second of three required readings Wednesday, closely mirrors Russia's widely decried 2013 ban but provides stiffer penalties, including up to a year in prison.
The bill defines "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" as "the distribution of information aimed at forming a positive attitude among citizens to sexual relations between people of the same sex, if the act is committed using the mass media, including the internet, or among minors." It also states that public demonstrations promoting "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" may be banned.
The bill has sparked criticism from rights groups and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan and the European Parliament.
Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary committee on human rights last year recommended the bill move forward, though Minister of Justice Jyldyz Mambetalieva told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz service in May that it violates human rights and the Ministry opposes it.
Activists say anti-LGBT rhetoric and violence has increased in Kyrgyzstan since the bill was introduced in the spring of 2014.
This video posted on Facebook by the LGBT organization Labrys shows young men from anti-LGBT nationalist groups disrupting a private event commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on May 17. Labrys activists said the men forced their way into a private cafe where about 30 people had gathered, injuring one of the women present.