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Hungary bans LGBT+ pride march citing constitutional changes
Hungarian police announced on Friday the ban of an LGBT+ pride march scheduled for October in the southern city of Pécs, citing recent constitutional amendments that prohibit any gathering deemed to “promote homosexuality.”
The decision follows the earlier ban of the Budapest Pride in June, ordered by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government as part of its ongoing campaign against LGBT+ rights. Despite the prohibition, more than 200,000 people joined the demonstration in the capital, making it one of the largest marches since Orban returned to power in 2010.
Organizers from the association Diverse Youth Network condemned the latest ban as a “serious blow to the LGBT+ community” and pledged to move forward with the event on October 4. “We refuse to be silenced. We will not be intimidated,” they declared in a statement.
Since 2018, Viktor Orban has progressively restricted the rights of sexual minorities under the banner of “child protection,” drawing repeated criticism from Brussels. European leaders described the ban of the Budapest Pride as a major setback for LGBT+ rights within the EU.
In Budapest, Mayor Gergely Karacsony was even questioned as a suspect for organizing the June march and now faces up to one year in prison if convicted.