Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who opposed the new law, said the “horrific killing” raised urgent questions about hate crimes and discrimination.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakidze’s government’s laws severely restrict the rights of LGBT people.
The bill would ban same-sex marriage, gender reassignment surgery, adoption of children by non-heterosexuals, and promotion of same-sex relationships in schools.
The bill passed the House on Tuesday by a vote of 84 to 0 despite criticism from human rights groups.
The ruling party said the “Family Values and Protection of Minors” bill was designed to protect the vast majority of Georgians who seek protection from “LGBT propaganda.”
But local LGBT rights activists say the government has used homophobic and transphobic language and ideology to promote the bill.
Some activists have argued that the government’s damaging rhetoric was directly linked to Mr Abramidze’s killing.
She was one of the first openly transgender people in Georgia, represented the country in an international trans beauty pageant, and has over half a million followers on social media.
“Political homophobia, biphobia and transphobia have become central to the government’s official discourse and ideology,” said the Centre for Social Justice, a local human rights group.
“The murder of Caesarea Abramidze cannot be seen separately from this overall, grave context,” he added.
Progressive politicians abroad have also linked the murder to the government’s legislative agenda.
“He who sows hatred reaps violence. Kesaria Abramidze was murdered just a day after the Georgian parliament passed an anti-LGBTI law,” wrote Michael Rott, a German lawmaker and Social Democratic chairman of the country’s foreign affairs committee.
EU insiders were quick to condemn the bill as soon as it was passed earlier this week, saying it would further undermine the country’s stated goal of EU membership.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the law was “further derailing the country from the EU path” and urged the Georgian government to revoke it.
He added that the bill undermines “fundamental rights of citizens” and exacerbates discrimination and stigmatization.
The British embassy also expressed “serious concerns”.
Human rights groups have described Georgia’s law as similar to Russia’s, which severely restricts LGBT rights.
Freedom House, a Washington-based think tank, said the bill was “ripped straight from the Kremlin’s authoritarian playbook.”
