Being queer in Hungary just got even worse
03 March 2025
The annual Budapest Pride will no longer take place in its current form, as the Hungarian government announced it wants to ban the march last week. The move comes along with a proposed constitutional amendment on 'child protection' – a buzzword that the government frequently hides behind while violating LGBTQ+ rights. In addition, prime minister Viktor Orbán also suggested in his state of the nation address that the constitution should define that a human can only be a male or a female.
For now, it's unclear how the government could effectively ban the march before June, when it usually takes place, as the constitutional amendment itself wouldn't be enough to justify it, but the cabinet's goal is to force it into a closed, private space this year.
 | Fruzsina Szikszai With Donald Trump back in the White House and the US ambassador David Pressman, an openly gay man who has frequently spoken out against the government's repressive actions, out of Hungary since January, Orbán is visibly becoming bolder on this front against LGBTQ+ rights. In recent years, the Hungarian government has increasingly diminished the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. For example, an amendment in 2020 established the definition of family in the constitution as a union of a man and a woman with children, and an anti-paedophilia law got hijacked by ruling party Fidesz and was turned into an anti-LGBTQ+ measure, banning queer representation in media products for children. To get an idea of how this all could play out, let's take a look at Türkiye: Istanbul Pride has been denied permission by the authorities since 2015, citing security concerns. The organisers hold a demonstration every year anyway, despite often being met with tear gas, riot shields, pepper gas, plastic bullets, and facing multiple arrests. |
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