Budapest Mayor Defies Police Ban, Plans Pride March Amid Hungary LGBT Law

Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karácsony has vowed to defy a police ban on the annual Pride march scheduled for June 28, asserting that the event will proceed as a city-organized celebration despite new legislation passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party. The law, justified by the government as a measure to protect children, prohibits the promotion of same-sex relationships to minors and provides a legal basis for banning LGBTQ+ marches, which police cited in their prohibition of the event. Karácsony has framed the march as a municipal event that does not require official permission and has criticized the ban as legally invalid, even likening attempts to ban Pride to banning mythical creatures. The ban has sparked widespread criticism and solidarity from European lawmakers and activists, with several MEPs and European ministers planning to participate in the march in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Orbán's government maintains that the measures are necessary to protect children's development, while opponents view them as part of a broader crackdown on LGBTQ+ freedoms. The confrontation highlights the ongoing clash between Hungary's nationalist government and liberal forces both domestically and within the European Union.