The LGBTQ+ community in Hungary now faces the prospect of criminalization for simply gathering in public, while the government’s use of surveillance technology raises fears of broader repression against all forms of dissent.
Budapest — The Hungarian Parliament delivered a stunning blow to civil liberties on Monday, passing a constitutional amendment that grants the government sweeping authority to ban all public events organized by LGBTQ+ communities.
The move, orchestrated by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz-KDNP coalition, passed with 140 votes in favor and 21 against, strictly along party lines.
The amendment, which required a two-thirds majority, codifies into the nation’s highest law a ban on LGBTQ+ public gatherings, including the popular Budapest Pride parade that draws thousands each year.
Legal scholars, human rights advocates, and opposition politicians have condemned the measure as a grotesque escalation in Orbán’s campaign against LGBTQ+ rights and a chilling step toward outright authoritarianism.
Jim Luce, head of the Luce Family Charities, stated, “It is definitely and purely and strictly about humiliating people and excluding them, not just from the national community, but even from the community of human beings.”
“Child Protection” as a Pretext
The government claims the amendment is necessary to “protect children,” declaring that children’s rights to moral, physical, and spiritual development supersede all other rights except the right to life. This language, critics argue, is a thinly veiled pretext for erasing LGBTQ+ visibility and criminalizing public expression of queer identities.
Hungary’s so-called “child protection” legislation already prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors under 18. The new constitutional amendment embeds these restrictions, giving the government unchecked power to ban any event it deems contrary to its narrow definition of family values.
Surveillance and Punishment
The law goes further, authorizing authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify attendees at prohibited events, such as Budapest Pride. Those identified can face fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints (about $546), a move rights groups say is designed to intimidate and silence dissent.
Protest and Police Crackdown
The amendment’s passage was met with outrage and protest. Opposition lawmakers and activists attempted to blockade the entrance to parliament’s parking garage, binding themselves together with zip ties. Police forcibly removed the demonstrators, underscoring the government’s determination to quash resistance.
A Pattern of Repression
This is the 15th amendment to Hungary’s constitution since Orbán’s party unilaterally rewrote it in 2011. The new language also asserts that the constitution recognizes only two sexes, male and female, further marginalizing transgender and intersex individuals and reinforcing a previous ban on same-sex adoption.
The government insists the changes are not an attack on individual self-expression but a “clarification that legal norms are based on biological reality.” Critics, however, see a calculated campaign to erase LGBTQ+ people from public life and dismantle the last vestiges of democratic rights.
International and Domestic Backlash
Rights activists, legal scholars, and European officials have condemned the amendment as a grave violation of human rights and democratic norms. The LGBTQ+ community in Hungary now faces the prospect of criminalization for simply gathering in public, while the government’s use of surveillance technology raises fears of broader repression against all forms of dissent.
As Hungary cements its anti-LGBTQ+ stance in law, the disgust and alarm among rights defenders is palpable. The country’s slide toward authoritarianism, critics warn, is accelerating—and the cost is being borne by its most vulnerable citizens.
Orbán’s Hungary Passes Constitutional Ban on LGBTQ+ Events (April 15, 2025)
#Hungary #LGBTQ #HumanRights #BudapestPride #Authoritarianism
#Orbán #CivilRights #LGBTQBan #HungaryNews #Democracy
Tags: Hungary, LGBTQ, Viktor Orbán, Budapest, Parliament,
Constitutional Amendment, Human Rights, Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties,
Pride Parade, Fidesz, Child Protection Law, Facial Recognition, Protest, Europe
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