Latest news with #30thBudapestPride
The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Hungary bans LGBTQ symbols on government buildings
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban prohibited the display of symbols 'referring to or promoting' sexual minorities on government buildings, hours before the 30th Budapest Pride festival formally opens on Friday (June 6, 2025). The nationalist leader has been rolling back LGBTQ rights in the name of 'child protection' for years and this year his governing coalition adopted legal changes aimed at barring the annual Pride march. The parade is the culmination of the weeks-long Budapest Pride Festival, and this year it is scheduled to take place on June 28, despite the ban threat. A fresh decree signed by Orban and published in the government's gazette late Thursday (June 5, 2025) said that 'symbols referring to or promoting different sexual and gender orientations or the political movements representing them may not be placed on buildings' connected to the government or the central bank. The Prime Minister's office stressed it is a 'symbolic' decision, because displaying such symbols was 'not common practice on government buildings'. 'The government decree primarily confirms that the government is fully committed to curbing LGBTQ propaganda aimed at children, whether in kindergartens, schools, the media or public spaces,' it said in a statement. Municipal buildings are not affected by the decree. Budapest City Hall has flown the rainbow flag during each year's Pride festival since liberal mayor Gergely Karácsony was elected in 2019. Pride organisers are still intent on holding this year's parade, despite the legal uncertainty surrounding the event. On Thursday (June 5, 2025), an advocate general to the European Court of Justice recommended that Hungary be declared in breach of EU law over an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The legislation prohibits the 'display or promotion of homosexuality' to under-18s, also serving as the basis for this year's fresh legal changes aiming to ban the Pride march. On Friday (June 6, 2025), Orban blasted the advocate general's recommendation as 'shameful'. 'It seems that the freedom to spread sexual propaganda is more important to the Brusselians than protecting children's rights. This is madness!' the nationalist leader said on the X social media platform.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Hungary Bans LGBTQ Symbols On Government Buildings
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban prohibited the display of symbols "referring to or promoting" sexual minorities on government buildings, hours before the 30th Budapest Pride festival formally opens on Friday. The nationalist leader has been rolling back LGBTQ rights in the name of "child protection" for years and this year his governing coalition adopted legal changes aimed at barring the annual Pride march. The parade is the culmination of the weeks-long Budapest Pride Festival, and this year is scheduled to take place on June 28, despite the ban threat. A fresh decree signed by Orban and published in the government's gazette late Thursday said that "symbols referring to or promoting different sexual and gender orientations or the political movements representing them may not be placed on buildings" connected to the government or the central bank. The prime minister's office stressed it is a "symbolic" decision, because displaying such symbols was "not common practice on government buildings". "The government decree primarily confirms that the government is fully committed to curbing LGBTQ propaganda aimed at children, whether in kindergartens, schools, the media or public spaces," it said in a statement. Municipal buildings are not affected by the decree. Budapest City Hall has flown the rainbow flag during each year's Pride festival since liberal mayor Gergely Karacsony was elected in 2019. Pride organisers are still intent on holding this year's parade, despite the legal uncertainty surrounding the event. On Thursday, an advocate general to the European Court of Justice recommended that Hungary be declared in breach of EU law over an anti-LGBTQ law adopted in 2021. The legislation prohibits the "display or promotion of homosexuality" to under-18s, also serving the basis for this year's fresh legal changes aiming to ban the Pride march. On Friday, Orban blasted the advocate general's recommendation as "shameful". "It seems that the freedom to spread sexual propaganda is more important to the Brusselians than protecting children's rights. This is madness!" the nationalist leader said on the X social media platform.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
Thousands of people took to the streets in Budapest on Tuesday night to protest against a recently adopted bill aimed at banning the annual Pride march. The legislation is the latest in a series of measures under Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, which critics say curtail the rights of the EU country's LGBTQ community. The adopted bill aims to ban the Pride march on the basis that it infringes on Hungary's criticised "child protection" law, enabling authorities to fine those who attend or organise such an event, and use facial recognition tools to identify potential offenders. Waving Hungarian and rainbow flags and holding up signs that read "Enough of the lies" and "Down with Orban! We want democracy", more than 10,000 people gathered in central Budapest according to an AFP photographer. "We're standing up for the freedom of assembly," said 26-year-old psychologist Emese, who declined to give her surname. Another protester, 60-year-old pastry chef Agica Tothne, told AFP that she also plans to join the upcoming demonstrations since "this corrupt system needs to fall, and people are starting to wake up". Independent lawmaker Akos Hadhazy and organiser said the protests "won't stop until the law is repealed", slamming what he called a "techno-fascist law" that was modelled after similar ones in China and Russia. Dorottya Redai of the Labrisz lesbian organisation spoke at Tuesday's rally, saying that the bill goes beyond restricting the "fundamental right to peaceful assembly". The gender studies researcher said it is "clearly meant to erase LGBTQ people from public life". The law against Budapest Pride has already sparked protests in Hungary. When parliament passed the legislation in mid-March, demonstrators blocked a Budapest bridge for more than three hours. March organisers have said they plan to go ahead with the 30th Budapest Pride on June 28. mg-kym/giv
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hungary will no longer 'tolerate' public Pride march
Hungary's government has proposed legal changes to stop the annual Pride march from taking place in the "same public form" as previously, a top official said Thursday. The government had never supported the parade, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas told journalists. But "the room for manoeuvre was not wide enough" for a ban, until US President Donald Trump's return to the White House. "We believe that Pride marching through downtown, now that the US ambassador can no longer lead it, should not be tolerated by the country," he added. The former US ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, a constant critic of the Orban government, regularly joined the Pride march along with other foreign diplomats. Pressman stepped down from his post last month before the Trump administration took office. On Saturday, Orban hinted at banning the event in his annual state of the nation address. Referring to that speech, Gulyas told journalists: "It follows directly from this that there will be no Pride in the future in the public form in which we have come to know Pride in recent decades." The government would file a constitutional amendment prioritising the need for child protection, and on that basis the current format of the Pride march could be banned, he added. - Anti-LGBTQ measures - Hungary has restricted LGBTQ rights in recent years to "protect children", but the parade has still drawn thousands of people. Pride organisers say they are still preparing the 30th Budapest Pride for June 28. In a statement Saturday, they condemned the politicisation of the question at a time when people were struggling with basic problems such as the cost of living. "The government's task should not be to further restrict the basic freedoms of the Hungarian people, but to find real solutions" the statement added. Since 2019, Hungary's constitution has stated that marriage is only possible between a man and a woman, and that the mother is a woman and the father is a man. Laws have effectively banned same-sex couples from adopting children and prevented transgender people from changing their name or gender in official documents. In 2021, a law that banned the "promotion and display" of homosexuality to minors sparked fury among critics who said it conflated being gay with paedophilia. The legislation, which drew criticism from the European Union, led to books with LGBTQ themes being covered up and bookshops fined. ros/jj/giv
