Hungary: constitutional amendment banning LGBT gatherings?
Following a vote in parliament decided by the government majority, the clear separation of the sexes into male and female has been enshrined in the Hungarian constitution. In addition, the right of children to appropriate physical, mental and moral development is to take precedence over other fundamental rights. Critics fear these provisions could be used to restrict the right of assembly and ban Pride parades.
Wrong sentence in the wrong place
Magyar Hang finds the constitutional amendment according to which a person can only identify as either male or female unacceptable - both formally and in terms of content:
“Such statements have no place in the constitution. Otherwise hundreds of other alleged or real facts and correct or incorrect definitions could be enshrined there too. ... From a scientific point of view, the bipolar structure of gender is more a malleable cultural construct than a universal and eternal given. Naturally, this does not prevent politicians in their ideological struggle from using the issues of biological and social gender and gender diversity as a weapon in public debate and to mobilise their own camp. But we should not write nonsense into the Hungarian constitution.”
Protecting the population against Western agitation
The pro-government Magyar Nemzet defends the decision:
“It would be untrue to say that the Pride march was banned in this form. However it is true that the Hungarian government is fighting vehemently, including by legal means, against the propaganda that is constantly trying to penetrate from the West and which aims to sensitise minors to sexual minorities. The problem is that this is not just about sensitisation but also encouragement. ... Anyone travelling from Hungary to the West can clearly see what it's all about: deliberate agitation. And the constitutional amendment is directed against such propaganda, not against homosexuals as such.”
The EU must take legal action
The Irish Times hopes that the European Court of Justice will intervene:
“The amendment is unlikely to pass muster with the European Court of Justice (ECJ), where Hungary is already facing a separate European Commission case challenging the 2021 'Child Protection Act'. It censored comprehensive sex education, equating LGBTQ+ lifestyles with paedophilia, blocked same-sex adoption, and restricted content in media and advertising. Orban's escalation of his culture war against the LGBTQ+ community and what he calls 'gender madness,' ... has little to do with concern for children and everything with his need ahead of 2026 elections to counter a surging opposition movement by co-opting support on the far-right. The EU must respond firmly with action in the ECJ.”