Budapest.- He Hungarian Parliament approved this Tuesday an amendment to the assembly law that practically prohibits the holding of the parade LGBT Pride, with the argument of protecting minors.
The rule was proposed by the Fidesz party, ultranationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and has also received support from far-right MPs.
The amendment states that "meetings that promote or display birth sex change or homosexuality" are prohibited.
The amendment was passed with 136 votes in favor and 27 against (36 deputies did not vote).
During the vote, lawmakers from the liberal opposition Momentum party lit flares in the colors of the Hungarian flag: red, white, and green.
Fidesz, which has maintained a two-thirds absolute majority since 2010, justifies the reform by applying the so-called "law on the protection of minors," whose stated objective is to respect children's right "to adequate physical, mental, and moral development."
The organizers of Budapest Pride, which concludes every summer with the LGBTQI Pride parade, have denounced the ultra-nationalist Orbán government for scapegoating the community and restricting peaceful protests.
"This is not child protection, it's fascism," Pride Budapest emphasized in a statement.
"Any gathering that violates the prohibition established in the Law on the Protection of Minors is prohibited," the amendment states, making organizing and participating in such events a violation.
The call 'minor defense law', approved in 2021, links homosexuality with pedophilia, which is why it is considered homophobic by various NGOs and has been criticized by the European Union, to which Hungary belongs.
That rule prohibits talking about homosexuality in spaces and publications for minors and forces bookstores to sell books in the youth section that address this topic in sealed envelopes.
Because this legal change limits the right to assembly, the government is expected to promote a constitutional amendment to prioritize children's right to "the care necessary for their proper physical, mental, and moral development" over all other fundamental rights, with the exception of the right to life.
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The democratic opposition has denounced the amendment as a violation of one of its fundamental rights and further restricts the rights of the LGBTQI+ community in the Central European country.
The Orbán government has been progressively reducing the rights of this community for 15 years. In 2011, it amended the Constitution and established that marriage is the union of a man and a woman. He later banned same-sex couples from adopting children.
Despite Orbán's policies, support for the Pride Parade continues to grow among Hungarians. While in 2019, 34% of respondents believed it should be banned, today only 27% think so.
Organizers say that despite the bans, Pride Day, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in Hungary, will still be celebrated this year.
