Budapest police have denied permission for a Pride event, citing a law prioritizing the right of children to “adequate mental development”
The Hungarian authorities have denied permission for an LGBTQ parade in Budapest, invoking for the first time recent legislation that seeks to protect children from malignant influence.
In a statement on Monday, Budapest police shot down a request for a pro-LGBTQ event planned for this weekend and supported by five human rights groups, including Amnesty International Hungary. They cited a recent amendment that prioritizes the right of children to “adequate physical, mental, and moral development” over other freedoms.
The authorities were acting based on a law adopted in March, which prohibits pride events and authorizes the use of facial recognition technology to identify participants, with potential fines of up to $500. In April, the Hungarian parliament also passed a constitutional amendment recognizing only two genders – male and female – while defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
The legislation was supported by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ardent critic of “woke policies.” While advocating for the law banning LGBTQ pride events, Orban said it is necessary to protect minors from “the international gender network” and “harmful agendas” promoted by bureaucrats in Brussels.
In response to the ban, 17 EU countries released a joint declaration saying they “are highly alarmed by these developments which run contrary to the fundamental values of human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights,” while urging Hungary to revise the legislation.
EurActiv reported on Monday that the office of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen privately recommended that commissioners not attend the much larger Pride march scheduled for late June in Budapest, so as not to “provoke” Hungary. The EU Commission has dismissed the report, saying von der Leyen “stands firmly for a true Union of Equality.”
