The ruling party Fidesz has dubbed Pride marches as being “harmful to children”
BY LORENA CRISTEA, IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES
Members of the LGBTQIA community gathered in Hungary’s capital city, Budapest, on 12 April to protest the right-wing government’s recently passed law banning Pride marches.
The ruling party, Fidesz, which was recently praised by US President Donald Trump, submitted a bill in parliament in March that bans Pride marches from taking place, as they could be considered “harmful to children”.
This Monday, despite the week-long protests, the constitutional amendment targeting LGBTQIA people was passed in parliament, with 140 votes in favour and 21 against, according to The Guardian.
The latest “grey Pride” saw LGBTQIA activists dressed up in grey, carrying banners denouncing colours and diversity in central Budapest to show the irony of this new ruling.
Demonstrator Kata Bicksei, 53, told AFP: “Look at all these people here now, dressed in grey – a perfect display of what sameness looks like. That’s the twist, of course. We don’t want everyone to be the same.” Another protester agreed, adding that “humour exposes the absurd”.
Hungary PM Viktor Orbán quickly passed the bill into law and set up a 200,000 forint (£420) fine for any organiser of the Budapest Pride, along with anyone attending the event.
The opposition Momentum party compared Orbán’s decision-making with Russia’s, as Vladimir Putin has always portrayed himself as a leader whose core beliefs lie in traditional family values. Other anti-LGBTQIA policies include blocking same-sex couples from adopting and prohibiting school curriculums from mentioning LGBTQIA issues. Despite all this, homosexuality is legal in the Eastern European country, and discrimination based on sexuality and gender is against the law.
Over the past couple of years, more than 30,000 LGBTQIA people and allies have marched in solidarity with the community.
Budapest Pride published a statement after the bill was first submitted, which said: “This is not child protection; this is fascism.”
“The Hungarian government is trying to restrict peaceful protests with a critical voice by targeting a minority. Therefore, as a movement, we will fight for the freedom of all Hungarians to protest!”
As a response, the EU launched legal actions against the Hungarian government over the law and froze funding. The ruling was also heavily influenced by the country’s stance on the asylum system, academic freedoms, and more. The EU stipulated a total of 17 conditions to be met before becoming eligible to access the funds.
In 2024, Orbán – who has been Hungary’s leader since 2010 – stated that “no money in the world” would make him accept what he labelled as “LGBTQIA propaganda”.
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