Hungarians protest Pride ban; Budapest mayor promises LGBTQ+ support

Thousands protested Tuesday in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, over a new law banning LGBTQ+ Pride events.

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Meanwhile, the city’s mayor has expressed support for Pride and the LGBTQ+ community.

The Hungarian Parliament approved the law by a vote of 136-27 March 18, the day after it was introduced. It’s supported by far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, an ally of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

The protesters blocked a major street in Budapest in the second demonstration against the new law, which makes it a crime to hold or attend events that violate Hungary’s so-called LGBTQ+ propaganda law, banning the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors. It’s similar to a Russian law.

“Chanting ‘democracy’ and ’assembly is a fundamental right,’ thousands of the demonstrators poured onto one of the city’s busiest roads, igniting colorful smoke bombs and blocking traffic,” the Associated Press reports. “In the coming hours, they went on to blockade three of the city’s bridges spanning the Danube, facing lines of police blocking their path.”

Protesters occupy multiple bridges (seen here on Széchenyi lánchíd Chain Bridge) in central Budapest, Hungary, after the National Assembly passes a law banning the Budapest Pride March.Balint Szentgallay/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“I feel like love should be free, and who you love is not a decision in any way,” one of the protesters, Paula Antalfy, told the AP. “That we would not be able to gather like this, as we do now, and stand in our own streets, in our own city, is something I just can’t agree with.”

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The law also allows the government to use facial recognition technology to identify those who attend prohibited events. Violators can be fined up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($546).

Fidesz, the nation’s ruling party, plans to introduce a constitutional amendment further codifying the ban on Pride and similar events, and the amendment would establish that Hungary recognizes only two sexes, male and female.

United Nations Human Rights Council spokesperson Liz Throssell issued a statement last week denouncing the new law, saying it “results in arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on the rights of LGBTIQ+ individuals to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and privacy, including when advocating for their human rights in events such as Pride parades.”

A demonstrator holds a banner that shows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on a Pride flag during a protest against a recent law that aims to ban LGBTQ+ Pride events, March 25 in Budapest.Janos Kummer/Getty Images

Budapest Pride organizers said of the law, “This is not child protection, this is fascism.”

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony has expressed support for the parade and for the LGBTQ+ community in general. Appearing on the Budapest Pride podcast before the law was passed, he said the parade should go on, and his support apparently has not wavered. He also backed having an LGBTQ+ community center and LGBTQ+ district in Budapest.