Hungary’s parliament has banned LGBTQ+ pride events, citing child protection.
The legislation, passed in a 136-27 vote, is supported by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party Fidesz and their minority coalition partner, the Christian Democrats.
Tuesday’s law keeps with the government’s view that the annual Pride march could be considered an event harming children, and that this outweighs the right to assemble.
Attending a prohibited event will carry fines up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($550, €500), which the state must forward to “child protection,” according to the text of the law.
Authorities may also use facial recognition tools to identify individuals attending a prohibited event.
Budapest Pride organisers slammed the bill after it was first submitted Monday.
“It’s nothing more than political theater — the ruling party is using the LGBTQ community for its own gain. But we refuse to be anyone’s scapegoat,” the organisers said in a statement.
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“While more and more people are starving in Hungary, the Prime Minister’s priority is to ban human rights protests,” the statement added.
Attitudes to homosexuality in Hungary are polarised: a segment of the population, particularly younger and urban residents, shows increasing acceptance, while government policies and conservative factions reinforce traditionalist opposition.
Historically, Hungary decriminalized homosexual activity in 1961, relatively early compared to some other Eastern European countries. The age of consent was equalized for heterosexual and homosexual relationships in 2002, and discrimination based on sexual orientation is legally banned.
Registered partnerships for same-sex couples have been recognised since 2009, offering some legal protections, though same-sex marriage remains constitutionally prohibited since 2012, when the Constitution defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Surveys indicate a gradual shift in public opinion. For instance, a 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that 49% of Hungarians believed homosexuality should be accepted by society, a modest figure compared to Western European countries like Germany (86%) or the Netherlands (92%), but higher than some Eastern European neighbours like Bulgaria (32%).
An Ipsos survey from earlier in the decade showed that by 2021, 46% of Hungarians supported same-sex marriage, up from 30% eight years prior. More recent polling cited in 2021 suggested even stronger support, with 59% favoring marriage equality and 73% rejecting the notion that homosexual people endanger children.
These figures point to a growing acceptance, particularly among younger generations, and a disconnect between public sentiment and government rhetoric.
However, the ruling Fidesz government, in power since 2010, has pursued policies widely perceived as antagonistic to LGBTQ rights. The 2021 “child protection law” is a prominent example, restricting content that “promotes or portrays” homosexuality or gender reassignment to minors.
Critics argue it conflates homosexuality with pedophilia, a narrative echoed in state-aligned media, and limits freedom of expression. This law sparked international backlash, including EU legal action, but the government frames it as a defence of traditional family values rooted in Christian identity — a stance Orbán has publicly emphasised, stating in 2024 that marriage in Hungary is “exclusively for one man and one woman” due to the country’s Christian heritage.
This political stance has tangible effects on societal attitudes. While urban areas like Budapest host events like Budapest Pride, demonstrating resilience among the LGBTQ community, rural regions and older demographics tend to align more with conservative views.
Nationalist and far-right groups, such as the former Jobbik party, have historically linked homosexuality to threats against Hungarian identity, amplifying intolerance in some circles. Incidents of violence and harassment against LGBTQ individuals persist, with activists reporting a heightened sense of insecurity since the 2021 law.
