Thousands March Against Orban At Budapest Pride, US And European Embassies Show Up To Support [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports:

Thousands of Hungarians have joined the annual Budapest Pride march to support LGBTQ people and protest against a law that limits teaching about homosexuality and transgender issues in schools.

Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, in power since 2010, has introduced social policies that he says aim to safeguard traditional Christian values from western liberalism, stoking tensions with the EU.

The European Commission has launched legal action against Orbán’s government over the law, which came into force this month, saying it is discriminatory and contravenes European values of tolerance and individual freedom.

The BBC reports:

Budapest holds this march every year, but the new law has given the 2021 event special importance. “This is the EU and everyone should be able to live freely,” one protester told Reuters news agency.

Thousands of people are said to have joined the march, which crossed the city’s Liberty Bridge over the Danube. A “Stop LGBT” (“LMBT” in Hungarian) protest was also held in the city. Supporters of the law argue they are defending traditional Christian values.

Politico Europe reports:

Members of the European Parliament joined the Pride parade through the streets of Budapest. Despite the tension, the mostly youthful participants maintained a festive mood, dancing to Abba songs and waving rainbow flags. However there was also a sense among participants – who included many high-school students – that this was an act of defiance.

“In the past two years, we’ve had a government attack against the LGBTQI community, a lot of hate speech and also adoption of restrictive legislation when it comes to transgender rights, adoption, and most recently, a Russian-style propaganda law,” said Tamás Dombos, board member of Háttér Society, a Hungarian rights group.

France 24 reports:



A survey last month by the Ipsos polling organisation found that 46% of Hungarians supported same-sex marriage. More than 40 embassies and foreign cultural institutions in Hungary issued a statement backing the Budapest Pride Festival.

“We encourage steps in every country to ensure the equality and dignity of all human beings irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” wrote the signatories, including the U.S., British and German embassies.