Hungary changes controversial anti-LGBTQ law

In Hungary, crucial passages of the so-called anti-LGBTQ law have been abolished. The parliament in Budapest approved a draft to withdraw it a good five years after the law was passed. Accordingly, passages should be deleted that allegedly prohibited the “promotion” and “representation” of homosexuality in films and on television for minors.

Instead, content that can “seriously impair” the physical, mental, emotional or moral development of children should be generally prohibited in the future. It is the first significant departure from measures against the LGBTQ community adopted under right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán since his pro-European successor Péter Magyar took office in May.

Under Orbán, Hungary had restricted the rights of queer people for years. The Child Protection Act passed in 2021 stipulated that minors should not receive any information about homosexuality or gender reassignment. Since then, the depiction of same-sex relationships on television has been punishable in Hungary.

The Orbán government also used the strict guidelines to ban pride parades. In April, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the law violated EU law.

Magyar's conservative Tisza party won a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections in April, ousting Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, from power. Since then, the LGBTQ community in Hungary had hoped for their rights to be restored - Magyar had avoided addressing the issue of LGBTQ rights during the election campaign.