Thousands of protesters took to the streets for the fourth straight week in Hungary’s capital on Tuesday in a show of enduring resistance to a recent law passed by the populist government that bans LGBTQ+ Pride events.
Demonstrators filled the Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube in central Budapest demanding the withdrawal of the law that was fast-tracked through parliament in March by the nationalist party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Some planned to remain on the bridge throughout the night.
The law, which is reminiscent of similar restrictions against sexual minorities in Russia, makes it an offense to hold or attend events such as Pride that depict homosexuality to minors under 18 — something some legal experts and human rights groups say is Orbán’s latest crackdown on Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community and an arbitrary restriction on the right to assembly.
Viktória Vajda, a protester at Tuesday’s demonstration, said the time for trying to find common ground with Orbán’s government "has passed,” and that the ban on Pride affected the basic rights of both LGBTQ+ communities and of all Hungarians.
"If we don’t stand up for the rights of minorities and for our own fundamental rights, then who will when they come for us?” she said. "We’ve reached the point where we have to stand up and say, ‘No more.’”
The protests, now in their fourth week, saw many demonstrators defying police orders to disperse and occupying numerous bridges and main thoroughfares in Budapest. On Tuesday, there were plans to shut down all five main bridges over the Danube in the city center.
Orbán, a populist autocrat who critics say has eroded Hungary's democracy and overseen widespread corruption, has in recent years taken aim at the country’s LGBTQ+ community, prohibiting same-sex adoption and — in a 2021 “child protection” law — banning any LGBTQ+ content including in television, films, advertisements and literature that is available to minors.
As part of the law passed last month, authorities may use facial recognition tools to identify individuals that attend prohibited events — such as the popular Budapest Pride which draws tens of thousands each year — and can issue fines for violators of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546).
Orbán’s party plans to adopt a constitutional amendment next week that will codify the ban on public LGBTQ+ events.
The Hungarian leader has also pledged to introduce new legislation that will prohibit demonstrators from blocking traffic on bridges and busy roads, arguing the rights of assembly and expression cannot override the rights of commuters.
János Stummer, a member of the opposition Momentum party, which was present at the protest, said that while the ban on Pride was harmful to members of the LGBTQ+ community, "this is about much more than that.”
"This is simply about Viktor Orbán unilaterally, arbitrarily deciding which events can be held in this country and which cannot,” he said.
Orbán's government argues that its policies are designed to protect children from "sexual propaganda.” But with around a year before national elections and
Orbán's party lagging in polls, critics view them as part of a broader effort to scapegoat sexual minorities and mobilize his conservative base.
(Associated Press)
