Hungary submits bill to change LGBTQ restrictions
The Hungarian government has submitted to parliament a bill to change rules concerning LGBTQ people under the age of 18, introduced in 2021. As Al Jazeera English reports, the document proposes removing direct references from legislation to banning the “promotion” or “display” of homosexuality and gender transition to minors.
New wording
Instead of the current provisions, the bill provides for a general wording concerning materials that may “seriously harm a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional or moral development”. The 2021 law was an addition to existing child protection rules and prohibited the “promotion of homosexuality” among people under the age of 18.
This law was also used to ban pride marches. Activists and European Union leaders criticized the law, saying that it stigmatizes LGBTQ people and links same-sex relationships with pedophilia.
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Government position and court ruling
Conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who won the election in April, said that the new rules would apply “regardless of sexual orientation” and were intended to bring the country’s legislation into line with EU standards. According to him, the government maintains an uncompromising position on media content accessible to minors that promotes sexual violence, manipulation and exploitation.
In April, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the Hungarian law had violated the “very identity” of the European Union. Following the court ruling, Hungarian police allowed this year’s pride marches, which had been banned last year under Viktor Orbán’s government. Magyar also said that the government was considering changing a 2020 law that restricted adoption by married couples and effectively made adoption impossible for same-sex couples.
