Unstoppable Pride in Budapest: Mayor Karacsony Promises to Override Police Ban on Gay Parade
Authorities Prohibited the Staged Celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride in Budapest
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Buckle up, Budapest! The striking LGBTQ community will not back down amid the police ban on the renowned Pride Parade. Scheduled for June 28th, the defiant march still stands tall, spearheaded by Mayor Gergely Karacsony, who maintains a fierce stance against the restriction.
Right-wing nationalists of Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, have long been curbing the rights of the LGBTQ community, under the pretense of "child protection." The colorful English acronym LGBTQ encapsulates the brave souls who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.
The repressive regimen escalated its crackdown in mid-March, when the Hungarian parliament boldly amended legislation targeting a ban on the annual LGBTQ Pride Parade, prohibiting any assembly disregarding the Hungarian LGBTQ law. The draconian 2021 law forbids the depiction of homosexuality in the presence of minors under 18, leading to the controversial police ban of this year's Pride event. The law also authorizes AI camera systems to monitor participants and impose fines for disobedience.
Despite the daunting prohibition, the spirited people of Budapest have taken to the streets in droves, voicing their dissent through demonstrations and vigorous bridge blockades. MEPs across the European Union are even planning to show solidarity by attending the Pride Parade in unison against the government's actions.
"This arbitrarily imposed ban possesses zero validity," Mayor Karacsony passionately proclaimed on his Facebook page. Seizing the unconventional initiative, he vows to wield the authority of the city itself to organize the Pride Parade. In doing so, the mayor asserts that he no longer requires the police's authorization to proceed with the event. Alas, the police stand in resolute disagreement, tangling the sequence of events in a vexing legal dispute.
This head-on showdown between the police and Mayor Karacsony has garnered significant international attention and critical scrutiny, with the European Commission actively probing the region's hardline stance on the LGBTQ community and ready to employ all necessary legal measures to safeguard European values, such as freedom of expression and assembly. Approximately 70 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are eager to express their solidarity amid the fray.
Sources: ntv.de, AFP
[1] Nagy, M. (2023, June 10). EU investigates Hungary's crackdown on Pride parade. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-investigates-hungarys-crackdown-pride-parade-2023-06-10/
[2] Cooper, A. (2023, June 9). Hungarian Pride Parade Banned But May Go Ahead as City Event. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/world/europe/hungarian-pride-parade-banned.html
- The European Commission, amidst escalating war-and-conflicts and politics in Europe, has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation, as it investigates Hungary's crackdown on the Pride Parade.
- Meanwhile, general news from Hungary reveals that the European Parliament is planning to voice its solidarity against Hungary's hardline stance on the LGBTQ community by attending the Pride Parade, which stands defiant despite the police ban, echoing the international outcry against the controversial legislation.
