Robert Antic has never been to Hungary\u2019s annual Budapest Pride, due to mark its 30-year anniversary this summer. But now, the 37-year-old content creator who is representing Hungary at this year\u2019s \u201cMr. Gay Europe\u201d wants to join the festivities for the first time \u2013 and the timing is no coincidence. <\/p>\n
Hungarian lawmakers on Tuesday passed a new law which bans Pride events in the country and allows authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify those attending any events that go ahead despite the ban \u2013 something campaigners say is illegal and part of a wider crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. <\/p>\n
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed the ban, which he said would outlaw gatherings that \u201cviolate child protection laws.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe won\u2019t let woke ideology endanger our kids,\u201d he posted on X on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The move sparked lively protests in Budapest earlier this week, with organizers of the city\u2019s Pride vowing to continue with the annual festival despite the new law and declaring: \u201cWe will fight this new fascist ban.\u201d <\/p>\n
For Antic, who describes himself as a \u201cproud gay man,\u201d the ban is a violation of his right to express himself. <\/p>\n
Despite the fears that the new law brings, Antic said he still considers Pride a \u201cfundamental event\u201d for the community. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter the challenges or restrictions, it\u2019s important for people to come together and celebrate who they are,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe change is possible.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Hungarian government, led by Orban\u2019s nationalist-populist party, regularly stands at odds with the rest of the European Union despite being a member. <\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Hungary, the only EU member state opposing Ukraine from joining, refused to sign a statement of support for Kyiv that was agreed to by all other countries within the union. Orban is also a close ally of US President Donald Trump, with the two sharing both an ideology and political approach. <\/p>\n
Orban\u2019s party has been enacting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation for several years now, often under the guise of so-called \u201cchild-protection.\u201d <\/p>\n
In 2020, the country effectively barred same-sex adoption, with Orban\u2019s office saying at the time that the move strengthened \u201cthe protection of Hungarian families and the safety of our children.\u201d <\/p>\n
A year later, the country banned the distribution of content related to homosexuality or gender change to under 18s, something the European Commission said violated \u201ca number of EU rules.\u201d <\/p>\n
As a self-described queer person, he has attended every Pride event held in Budapest since he arrived. <\/p>\n
Though the new law made him momentarily question whether his move to the city had been the right decision, he decided that his presence, along with other members of the LGBTQ+ community, is \u201cnow more important than ever.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me want to be more obvious (as a queer person),\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
For June, a 24-year-old non-binary, bisexual teacher and tattoo artist who did not want to share their last name for privacy reasons, Hungary is a challenging place to be openly LGBTQ+. <\/p>\n
In an effort to create more spaces for LGBTQ+ people in Budapest to meet, June has for the past two years held an event called Queer Picnic on the city\u2019s central Margaret Island. <\/p>\n
Some 70 people showed up to the first picnic after June advertised it on social media, with dozens showing up the following year. <\/p>\n
Despite the escalating clampdown, June said that they would organize another event this year, despite the ban on LGBTQ+ gatherings. \u201cQueer Picnic for now will be a really great solace for people during these times,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople want to feel normal \u2013 that\u2019s all we want. We just want to feel normal,\u201d they added. \u201cIt\u2019s the government that keeps inventing new laws to further segregate us.\u201d <\/p>\n
As members of the LGBTQ+ community are vowing to defy Hungary\u2019s new law, politicians and non-governmental organizations around the world are speaking out against it too. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis government wants to turn the clock back by decades and drag the country back to a much darker past,\u201d a cross-party group of European Parliament members declared on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Ghoshal said the law\u2019s reliance on \u201cthe worn-out claim that it is protecting children by criminalizing LGBTIQ people and their allies is a blatant ploy to misuse children for political gain.\u201d <\/p>\n
Despite criticism from human rights groups and opposing legislators \u2013 some of whom let off smoke flares in Hungary\u2019s parliament on Tuesday \u2013 the law was passed in a 136-27 vote, with support from Orban\u2019s party and their minority coalition partner the Christian Democrats. <\/p>\n
Orban may be trying to appeal to right-wing voters – Hungary\u2019s opposition party, Tisza, leads Orban\u2019s Fidesz in polls, according to Reuters, a year before elections in the country. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, other critics have homed in on the government\u2019s planned use of facial recognition tools to police the ban. <\/p>\n
Anna Bacciarelli, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said that Hungary is subject to the European Union\u2019s AI Act, which, she says, \u201cexplicitly prohibits the use of facial recognition in public spaces unless there is justification on national security grounds and when it is subject to judicial oversight.\u201d <\/p>\n
Another danger of facial recognition technology is that it has been shown to misidentify people, particularly those from minority groups, according to Serhat Ozturk, a legal officer at UK-based nonprofit Privacy International. <\/p>\n
June, the non-binary tattoo artist, said the threat of facial recognition being used if this year\u2019s Pride goes ahead initially scared them, but as they heard more people say that they would go anyway in defiance of the law, it \u201clit a flame\u201d within them. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m realizing that these are all tactics to silence us,\u201d June said. \u201cAnd if that is their goal, then we must continue. We have to continue fighting. That is all that we can do.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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