Hungary changes its constitution to restrict LGBTQI+ rights: it only recognizes two genders, prevents adoption, and bans Pride.
El hungarian parliament approved this Monday a controversial amendment to the Constitution that shields the ban on LGBTQ+ Pride marches in the country. This law has been passed under the argument that it prioritizes "child protection» to fundamental rights such as the right to assembly and free expression.
The reform, approved by 140 votes in a 199-seat Parliament, has been promoted by the Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultra-nationalist Viktor Orbán, and supported by an absolute majority of two-thirds of his party, the Fidesz.
The approved amendment establishes in the Constitution than "The right of the child to adequate physical, mental and spiritual development shall prevail over all other fundamental rights, with the exception of the right to life", which means that the right of assembly is subordinated to this"child protection«.
«This is not child protection, this is fascism.", the community has stated LGTBIQ + in a recent statement.
Another amendment also approved this Monday establishes the constitutional recognition of two sexes, male and female, which exempts others gender identities.
Wave of demonstrations
The vote took place amid tense scenes, when deputies and activists from the Liberal Party Momentum They have tried to partially block the square Kossuth, where the building is located Parliamentas the protest against the approval of the amendment.
By mid-March, a two-thirds majority of the Fidesz urgently approved in Parliament an amendment to the law on meetings to veto "Assemblies that violate the prohibitions provided for in the law on the protection of minors«. This reform states that, in order to enforce the defense of minors and their "adequate" development, "meetings that promote or exhibit the sex change from birth or the homosexuality", as well as participation in them.
Fines and facial recognition
It also provides for fines of up to 490 Euros and the use of technologies of "facial recognition» to identify the participants of these meetings. Ákos Hadházy, independent politician and organizer of several human rights demonstrations LGTBIQ +, has warned that the Government not only "bans gay rights marches"But by redefining the law on meetings, it seeks to prevent any serious protest that might upset the authorities.
Since the amendment was passed, thousands of citizens have protested every week and 22 European embassies, including those of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain, have expressed their deep concern about the "Restrictions on the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression«.
Despite the new legal framework, the organizers of the march of Pride in Budapest They announced that they remain determined to carry out the march planned for June 28. Now, there are fears that when they officially apply for the appropriate permit, which is submitted a month in advance, it will be rejected by the authorities.
In the last 15 years, the Orbán's government has pushed through laws that restrict the rights of the community LGTBIQ +, including the prohibition of legal recognition of gender reassignment, adoption for same-sex couples, and the constitutional definition of marriage as the exclusive union between a man and a woman. Europe is beginning to lose rights LGTBIQ + and for the moment there is no conclusive answer.
