Hungary bans LGBTQ+ Pride marches 19 hours ago Toby Luckhurst BBC News Share Save Getty Images Protester in Budapest holds a rainbow flag after Hungary bans Pride marchesGetty Images Protesters blocked a bridge in Budapest after the law passed on Tuesday Hungary has passed a law banning Pride marches held by the LGBTQ+ community, sparking outrage in and out of the country. Parliament voted for the measure just a day after the bill was submitted on Monday, in a process fast-tracked by the ruling right-wing Fidesz party under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban praised the legislation, which bans the event on alleged grounds it is harmful to children, saying: “We won’t let woke ideology endanger our kids.” Pride marches had been held for the past 30 years in Hungary. Opposition lawmakers lit flares during the voting session on Tuesday, while demonstrators blocked a bridge in central Budapest. Human rights groups have also condemned the move.

It is the latest measure from Orban’s government targeting Hungary’s LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, the country abolished its legal recognition of transgender people, and in 2021, politicians passed a law banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s. Under the terms of the new law, it is now “forbidden to hold an assembly in violation” of that 2021 legislation. Anyone who does faces fines of up to 500 euros ($545; £420). That could include attendees and march organisers. Police are also allowed to use facial recognition technology to identify possible offenders