On Monday, April 14, Hungary’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment that allows the government to ban public events put on by LGBTQ+ communities throughout the country.
The amendment, through its wording, declares that children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any right other than the right to life, including the right to peacefully assemble. Where it required a two-thirds vote to pass, 140 members voted for while 21 voted against. The law came from a proposal out of the Fidesz-KDNP coalition, which is led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The law also enables authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend any prohibited events put on after the passing, and can fine individuals for up to 200,000 Hungarian forints, equivalent to $546 USD.
Similar to Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order made on day one of his administration, the amendment explicitly recognizes two sexes, male and female, expanding on an earlier amendment that prohibits same-sex adoption by stating that a mother is a woman and a father is a man.
Trump has frequently cited Orban as influential and a good friend, which raises questions about Trump’s plans for more anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders or legislation for the future of the United States. In a statement from the American Civil Liberties Union, the organization made references for its plans to fight back against “Trump’s expected efforts to weaponize the Constitution and federal laws to require discrimination against LGBTQ people by state and local governments and private entities.” Is what we are seeing now, and have already seen in Russia a potential preview for Trump’s dystopian America? Will our country fight back as Hungary has attempted to?
Ahead of the Hungarian vote, a combination of protesters and opposition lawmakers tried to blockade the entrance to the parliament parking garage while linking each other together with zip ties. Police had to physically cut the ties in order to remove the demonstrators.
Dávid Bedő, a lawmaker with the opposition Momentum party who participated in the attempted blockade, was quoted before the vote, stating that Orbán and Fidesz for the past 15 years “have been dismantling democracy and the rule of law, and in the past two or three months, we see that this process has been sped up.”
Adding to this, as the next set of elections approach in 2026, and as Orbán’s party has been lagging in the polls behind other announced opposition challengers, Bedő stated that Orbán and company “will do everything in their power to stay in power.”
Hungary’s government has been using its then proposed “child protection” policies to campaign against LGBTQ+ communities for quite some time. The policies forbid the availability of any material that mentions homosexuality to minors, arguing that they are needed to protect children from what it calls “woke ideology” and “gender madness.”
Critics call out the measures, stating that they do little to protect children and are being used to distract from other more serious problems facing the country, and instead aim to mobilize Orbán’s right-wing base ahead of elections.“This whole endeavor which we see launched by the government, it has nothing to do with children’s rights,” said Dánel Döbrentey, a lawyer with the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, calling it “pure propaganda.”
One of the most disconcerting issues at play with the new law is the ability for police to utilize facial recognition tools to identify any attendees at future Pride events in the country. Hungary has used the technology since 2015 to assist police in criminal investigations and finding missing persons. Given the new law, the tools could be utilized in broader and ways, such as monitoring citizens and deterring future political protests.
“Salient in this case is the effect on the freedom of assembly, specifically the chilling effect that arises when people are scared to go out and show their political or ideological beliefs for fear of being persecuted,” said Ádám Remport, a lawyer with the HCLU
One of the last issues the amendment poses for the Hungarian public, particularly those who hold dual citizenship in non-European Economic area countries, is that it allows citizenship within Hungary to be suspended for up to 10 years if a person is deemed to pose a threat to public order, public security or national security.
Orbán, the self-described “illiberal” leader, has accelerated his longstanding efforts to crack down on critics such as media outlets and groups devoted to civil rights and anti-corruption, which he claims have undermined Hungary’s sovereignty by receiving financial assistance from international donors.