Hungarian lawmakers on Monday voted to approve new constitutional changes proposed by the populist ruling party that target the LGBTQ community, including by codifying into law a ban on Pride events, and a provision proclaiming that people can only be male or female.
The amendments had been expected to easily pass as Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party enjoys a two-thirds majority, plus the support of far-right lawmakers.
Some of Monday’s amendments underpin legislation passed on March 18 that banned the annual Pride march in the country, which effectively restricted freedom of assembly.
The ban triggered protests against the changes fast-tracked by the Fidesz party, who said the event could be considered as harmful to children and protecting them would supersede the right to assemble.
“We won’t let woke ideology endanger our kids,” Orban said in March as he defended the move.
The amendments also codify “children’s rights” for their “proper physical, mental and moral development take precedence over all other fundamental rights,” except the right to life.
“Normal people like us are under constant provocation, because people who live according to non-traditional sexual behavior…. let off steam on the streets,” Orban had added in response to public protest over the amendments.
More protests planned
Ahead of the approval of the constitutional amendment, the opposition Momentum party attempted to blockade parliament to prevent the vote from taking place, and claiming Orban was leading Hungary down the road of authoritarianism like that seen in Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Orban has been seen as using increasingly repressive methods against critics independent civil organizations for years, justifying his actions by claiming that individuals and groups critical of the government are harmful to Hungary and represent foreign interests.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organization based in Hungary, said it would protest after the voted, adding that the law “is a significant escalation in the government’s efforts to suppress dissent and weaken human rights protection.”
Rights groups like the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International have urged the European Commission to launch a procedure against Hungary’s government, arguing the amendment and other recent legislation breaches EU law.
Increasing restrictions on LGBTQ rights
Over the last six years Orban has changed Hungary’s constitution numerous times to increasingly restrict LGBTQ rights, with the first amendment coming in 2019, stating that marriage is only possible between a man and a woman.
In 2020, another change enshrined that a mother could only be a woman and a father a man, in a move that has prevented same-sex couples from adopting children.
The newest law written into the constitution on Monday means no public events can take place that feature the display of queer symbols, like rainbows, present sexuality “as an end in itself” or in which participants dress in ways “that diverge from the gender they were assigned at birth.”
It will also allow authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend prohibited events. Violations are subject to fines of up to €550 ($595), which is slightly less than Hungary’s monthly minimum wage.
Organizers have said they are still planning to go ahead with the Pride parade on June 28, despite the ban. Budapest’s liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, criticized the new law and said he hoped this year’s parade would be “bigger than ever.”
