Organizers estimate that 30,000 people attended the annual Pride celebrations in Budapest on Saturday, with attendees marching across the Hungarian capital in colorful outfits in support of inclusion and freedom.
This year, however, Pride is also a protest, as LGBTQ people and allies rally against Hungary’s increasingly hostile policy toward their communities, which is highlighted by a new homophobic law recently passed by the hardline government.
Andras Szolnoki, a 55-year-old anthropologist from Debrecen in eastern Hungary, said he joined the march to protest “Orbán’s regime” as well as the rights of LGBTQI people who have been targeted by the government for the past four years.
Only a “revolutionary approach,” according to Szolnoki, will change the status quo in Hungary, where right-wing populist ministers passed a law last month effectively prohibiting LGBTQ issues from being discussed in schools.
“It’s more than just a march,” Szolnoki told CNN. “It’s about Hungary joining the Europeans and showing equality.”
The new law, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán supports, prohibits all educational materials and programs for children that promote homosexuality or gender reassignment.
Orbán has proposed holding a referendum to ask the public if they support the “promotion” of content related to sexual orientation to children in the wake of harsh international criticism, including a scathing assessment (and a push for its repeal) by the European Union, of which Hungary is a member.
The Prime Minister is urging a “no” vote in the referendum. The answer is a resounding yes for those who gathered for Pride on Saturday.
Critics of the law argue that holding the referendum, which consists of five questions, is problematic in and of itself.
Orbán has proposed holding a referendum to ask the public if they support the “promotion” of content related to sexual orientation to children in the wake of harsh international criticism, including a scathing assessment (and a push for its repeal) by the European Union, of which Hungary is a member.
The Prime Minister is urging a “no” vote in the referendum. The answer is a resounding yes for those who gathered for Pride on Saturday.
Critics of the law argue that holding the referendum, which consists of five questions, is problematic in and of itself.
Akos Modolo, a 26-year-old LGBTQ activist, told CNN that the referendum’s problem is that it asks the public “leading questions,” comparing it to a 2016 referendum on the EU’s refugee resettlement plan. Hungary rejected the proposal, but did not meet the required voter turnout, making the referendum void.
“Even if you support LGBT rights, you wouldn’t automatically say yes to these questions,” Modolo said. “The government is using this as a political tool,” he said, explaining that the government’s strategy is to “always look for an enemy to blame” in order to “appeal to the anger of the voters.”
“It’s important to have a discussion,” Modolo added. “But this is not a discussion — it’s a hate campaign.”
