Hungarian police on Thursday, June 19, banned the country's main Pride march from taking place in Budapest on June 28, but the capital's mayor vowed to hold it despite the interdiction. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban returned to power in 2010, Hungary has passed a series of laws which have been criticized at home and across the European Union for curtailing the rights of the country's sexual and gender minorities in the name of "child protection."
"The police, acting within their authority over public assemblies, prohibit the holding of the assembly at the aforementioned location and time," the police said on their website. Police stated that the ban was necessary because the march would conflict with recently passed legislation. They said any appeal against the decision must be lodged with the central European country's supreme court within three days.
Within moments, Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony vowed to hold the gathering despite the interdiction. "Given that the city council did not make its announcement within the ambit of the law on gatherings, this ban has no value," Karacsony wrote on Facebook. "Budapest city hall will organize the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event. Period," he wrote.
The police decision came three days after Karacsony announced that Budapest would organize the march in an attempt to sidestep a recently adopted law. In mid-March, the Hungarian parliament passed a bill aimed at banning any gathering that violates an anti-LGBTQ+ law adopted in 2021. The 2021 law prohibits the "display or promotion of homosexuality" to under-18s.
In its decision published on Thursday, police said that the march "by its very nature cannot be held without the representation" of people belonging to the LGBTQ+ community and that under-18s could be present along the route. "If it cannot be stated with absolute certainty that the display is not taking place in the presence of persons under 18 years of age, the assembly would be in breach of the prohibition of the government," the police said.
Hungarian lawmakers in April overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes that strengthened the legal foundations for banning the Pride march. The government said the annual event could be held at an enclosed location like a stadium, out of sight of children.
The conflict over the Pride march has already sparked protests in Hungary. Thousands of people blocked bridges in the capital, demanding that the Pride ban law be repealed. Several EU lawmakers have said they will attend the parade.