Hungary might have just had the largest LGBTQ2S+ Pride parade in the country’s history—and it wasn’t even allowed to happen.
In March, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s right-wing populist government passed a constitutional amendment banning public events that “depict or promote” homosexuality to minors, specifically targeting Budapest’s annual Pride parade.
But the ban didn’t stop an estimated 100,000 people from celebrating Pride anyway over the weekend—and they risked threats of potential police action, newly approved facial recognition tools to identify attendees and heavy fines to do so.
The ban is the latest attack on LGBTQ2S+ rights from Orbán’s government, which has ended any legal recognition of trans people, made it illegal for same-sex couples to adopt children and required disclaimers for books featuring “non-traditional families.” Orbán later called the march “repulsive and shameful” and accused the EU of organizing the event to defy his government.
But the sheer size and scope of the demonstration shows that Orbán is not representative of his people. It’s a good reminder that while “Pride” has become more of a fun celebration backed by rainbow capitalist sponsors over the years, the history of Pride is directly tied to political action and protest—and that sentiment is still relevant today.
Why you can trust Xtra
