Law of family superior to any law: opinions on Armenia’s gender equality law

The Law on Gender Equality poses a threat to Armenian families, publicist Lia Avetisyan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Divinity, Yerevan State University, Vardan Khachatryan, priest Grigor Hovhannisyan, and Coordinator of the all-Armenian parental committee Arman Boshyan told a press conference on gender equality.
 
According to Ms Avetisyan, “shame on the one hundred and eight Parliament members that voted for the bill.”

Mr Khachatryan said that the Armenian people has historically been free of perversive practices. This is a matter of national security.

“If international laws are superior to national laws, the international laws must be submitted to public discussions as well,” he said.

Priest Grigor Hovhannisyan said that the Church’s mission is education and enlightenment. But such laws pave the way for sin, and “Sodom and Gomorrah is the end.” 

The Church is determined to struggle against all the practices that pose a threat to families, he said. 

As to why most of the Armenian MPs voted for the bill, priest Hovhannisyan said: “Do not you know who our Parliament members are? The RPA [ruling Republican Party of Armenia] told them to adopt the bill and they pressed the buttons. Very few of them are interested in adopting such a bill. Some of them lacked the shrewdness to understand the matter.” 

Mr Boshyan stressed the need to realize that it is not the law that is in question. 

“The law of family is superior to any law. I am appealing to our people and asking them ‘Are you ready for homosexuals to educate your children?’”