On Monday, Hungary's ruling coalition escalated its crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community by introducing a bill to parliament that aims to ban the popular Budapest Pride event and authorize the use of facial recognition software to identify participants.
With the ruling coalition holding a two-thirds majority in parliament, the bill is expected to pass with little resistance, news agency AP said.
The proposed legislation would make it illegal to organize or attend events that violate Hungary’s controversial “child protection” law, which bans the "depiction or promotion" of homosexuality to minors under 18.
Attendees of a banned event could face fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546), with the funds directed toward "child protection" initiatives.
This proposal marks the latest action taken by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government against LGBTQ+ individuals. His administration has introduced laws that have been widely criticized by rights groups and European politicians as discriminatory toward sexual minorities.
The government frames itself as a defender of traditional family values and Christian civilization, positioning its policies as a safeguard against what it calls “gender madness” and claiming they aim to protect children from “sexual propaganda.”
Hungary’s controversial "child protection" law, passed in 2021, not only bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality in content available to minors — such as TV shows, films, advertisements, and books — but also restricts the inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics in school curricula and prohibits the public display of “gender deviating from sex at birth.”
In a speech in February, Orbán hinted that his government would take steps to ban the Budapest Pride event, which attracts thousands and celebrates the history of the LGBTQ+ movement while asserting the equal rights of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.
Organizers have called Orbán’s drive to ban the event a restriction of fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly.
