Hungary votes to scrap LGBTQ+ content bans in 2021 law
Lawmakers backed the amendment by 139 votes to 51. Rights groups welcomed the change but warned that other restrictions remain.
Hungarian lawmakers have backed legislation removing bans on LGBTQ+ content accessible to children from a 2021 law adopted during Viktor Orbán’s premiership. The amendment passed with 139 votes in favour and 51 against, in the first significant reversal of his LGBTQ+ restrictions since Péter Magyar became prime minister in May.
The revised legislation will replace prohibitions on depicting or promoting sexual and gender diversity with protections against material capable of seriously damaging children’s development, including its physical, intellectual, emotional and moral aspects. Those safeguards will apply to under-18s.
Magyar presented the measure before the vote as strengthening protection for children irrespective of sexual orientation, rather than restoring rights. He said it would make Hungarian rules consistent with EU regulations. His Tisza party used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to pass the amendment without opposition support, while Orbán’s Fidesz opposed it.
In April, the European Court of Justice found the 2021 law violated the EU’s identity. EU commissioners Michael McGrath and Hadja Lahbib welcomed the parliamentary vote in a joint statement, saying it signalled a commitment to common values.
Tamas Dombos of the Hatter Society welcomed the removal of restrictions on LGBTQ+ content, but said numerous laws still needed revision, including those preventing legal recognition of transgender people and adoption by same-sex couples. Human Rights Watch said the bill did not change discriminatory language in Hungary’s constitution or assembly rules used to prohibit Pride marches and other LGBT-related gatherings.
