Rights activists and some jurists condemn the law, claiming it effectively criminalizes LGBTQ+ expressions.
The Hungarian Parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that allows the government to ban all public events hosted by LGBTQ+ groups.
The amendment, passed Monday, formalizes the law introduced earlier this year banning such gatherings, including Budapest’s annual Pride March.
Critics are considered to be another authoritarian rush by Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban’s right-wing government.
Human rights activists and some legal scholars have condemned the law and argued that LGBTQ+ expressions in public are effectively criminalized.
The Orban government has consistently argued that the law defends traditional family values and protects children.
The amendment was passed against 140 and 21 votes, supported solely by the MPS of Orban’s dominant Fides-KDNP Union. It took two-thirds of a majority to become law.
Prior to the legislative meeting, opposition lawmakers and demonstrators tried to prevent access to parliamentary parking. The protesters, who were tied to zip ties, were forced to remove them by police.
The revised constitutional text argues that the child’s right to moral, physical and mental development takes precedence over all rights except the right to life. Critics say the phrase is intended to limit freedom of assembly.
The new amendments enshring the Constitution’s “Child Protection” Act, which prohibits the “description or promotion” of homosexuality among minors.
It also states that the Constitution recognizes two genders, male and female, adding to previous amendments that prohibit same-sex adoption by claiming that mothers are women and fathers are male.
By granting the constitutional status of this law, the government could strengthen its legal foundation and potentially protect it from future legal challenges, including those from European Union agencies.
Budapest Pride, which has attracted thousands in recent years, is now facing uncertainty under a new framework. Organizers have not yet commented on whether the 2025 event will take place.
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