New Hungarian Government Proposes Repeal of LGBTQ+ Promotion Ban

The new government in Hungary, led by Prime Minister Peter Magyar and the Tisza party, has submitted a proposal to amend the child protection law to remove prohibitions on the promotion and representation of homosexuality and gender identity changes to minors. The original law, passed in 2021 under Viktor Orban, banned the promotion of homosexuality and the deviation from birth-assigned gender for those under 18. This legislation was later used as a basis to modify assembly laws in an attempt to ban Pride parades.

The proposed changes replace the specific bans on LGBTQ+ content with broader restrictions. The new text prohibits making available to minors pornographic material, content that depicts sexuality for its own sake, or material that promotes sexual violence, exploitation, manipulation, or other sexual crimes. Prime Minister Magyar stated that these rules will apply regardless of sexual orientation and that the government remains uncompromising against content that causes serious harm to a child's development.

Critics and EU leaders previously argued that the 2021 law stigmatized LGBTQ+ individuals and equated same sex relationships with pedophilia. The European Court of Justice ruled in April that the law contradicted the identity of the European Union. A center leaning source describes the 2021 law as homophobic and notes its similarity to a 2013 Russian propaganda law. A center right source describes the move as a sign of a new course in LGBTQ+ issues from the EU friendly conservative Prime Minister.