On March 18, 2025, thousands protested in Budapest against a newly approved law prohibiting LGBTQ Pride events and enforcing facial recognition for monitoring participants. Critics, including Amnesty International, labeled the law a severe violation of rights, claiming it was fast-tracked through Parliament without public input. Opposition lawmakers staged protests with rainbow smoke bombs. As many view this measure as a direct attack on the LGBTQ community, experts suggest it reflects Prime Minister Orbán's broader agenda against dissent and the dismantling of freedoms under the pretense of child safety concerns.
Thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of Budapest after Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok approved a law prohibiting LGBTQ Pride events and authorizing the use of facial recognition technology to monitor attendees.
Dávid Vig, director of Amnesty International Hungary, said, 'This law is a full-frontal attack on the LGBTI community and a blatant violation of Hungary's obligations to prohibit discrimination and guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.'
Hadley Renkin, a gender studies professor at Central European University, remarked, 'In targeting Budapest Pride, [Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán is both making a powerful statement about what kind of people he and his party think Hungarians (and all people) should be...'
LGBTQ advocates argue that far right politicians are exploiting concerns about minors' safety as a pretext to target LGBTQ people.
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