Hungary LGBTQIA+ ban: Public protest gatherings banned, citizens warned of photographs and fines

Hungary’s Parliament has banned public gathers for LGBTQIA+ people for protests, warning citizens that those who do not abide by the new law may be photographed and fined by authorise.

The nation passed the change to its constitution 140 to 21.

Under the change, Budapest Pride, a popular LGBTQIA+ celebration and pride protest, is now considered illegal.

Members of Hungary’s LGBTQIA+ community have already vowed to go ahead with the protest as Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues a crack down on human rights.

“I can say it honestly as a father, as a Hungarian citizen, as a person who is concerned about the future of this country, as a man who feels responsible for the spiritual state of the next generation, I have always been worried about such a thing as Pride,” Mr Orban said.

“I think that we’ve got nowhere to retreat.

“Until now we’ve been able to try to make deals and look for compromises, but that time has passed.

“If we don’t stand up for the rights of minorities and for our own fundamental rights, then who will when they come for us? We’ve reached the point where we have to stand up and say, ‘No more’.”

The amendment to Hungary’s constitution also targeted the trans community, stating people are male or female, as determined at birth.

On social media platform X, Mr Orban said: “We’re protecting children’s development, affirming that a person is born either male or female, and standing firm against drugs and foreign interference.”

“In Hungary, common sense matters.”

In Parliament, Opposition MPs lit flares and blasted air horns in protest.

Hungary, which is part of the European Union, could face a challenge to its change by the higher governing body.

Mr Orban has been Prime Minister since 2010, holding office before from 1998 to 2002.

His crack down on human rights and “common sense” has followed similar action from US President Donald Trump.