Last week, the National Assembly of Hungary approved a law that allows citizens to anonymously report on same-sex couples raising children. The provision specifies that Hungarians may report those who contest the “constitutionally recognized role of marriage and the family” and those who contest children’s rights “to an identity appropriate to their sex at birth,” which specifically targets transgender youth.
This law’s passage is not surprising, given that Hungary’s constitution defines marriage as between one man and one woman and states that “the mother is a woman, the father a man.” This comes after the country’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling in February that continues to block new applications from trans people for legal gender recognition, effectively creating two categories of trans people in Hungary.
The law has drawn criticism from international human rights groups, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who called it a “disgrace.” Fourteen EU member states, including Germany and France, have joined a lawsuit against Hungary’s discriminatory law based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a self-proclaimed “defender of traditional family Catholic values,” has faced widespread criticism for discriminating against LGBTQ+ people with this law. This law’s passage follows Orban’s ruling Conservative Party’s sponsorship of legislation banning any content promoting or portraying homosexuality or sex-reassignment surgery to anyone under 18.
LGBTQ+ activists, supporters, and human rights activists demonstrated in front of the Parliament in Budapest before the law’s passage, protesting against the legislation that equates sexual and gender diversity to pedophilia. Hungary’s new law threatens the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals and children, and its passage highlights the ongoing struggles for equality and acceptance.