Culture

Hungary Pushes National Referendum to Defend Anti-LGBTQ+ “Propaganda” Law


 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán plans to defend a controversial anti-LGBTQ+ law enacted last month by putting the issue up to a public vote.

In a Wednesday video posted on Facebook, the far-right leader announced that he will push for a national referendum in which Hungarian voters will weigh in on the law, which was recently met with a lawsuit from the European Union (EU). Partially inspired by Russia’s 2013 anti-gay “propaganda” ban, it forbids children under 18 from accessing information on “homosexuality or gender change” in schools and the media.

“The future of our children is at stake, so we cannot cede ground in this issue,” Orbán said in the video, as Al-Jazeera first reported. “In the past weeks, Brussels has clearly attacked Hungary over its child protection law. Hungarian laws do not permit sexual propaganda in kindergartens, schools, on television and in advertisements.”

Orbán reportedly hopes to include five questions in the plebiscite, which were cited in various news reports. Potential questions allegedly include whether children should be permitted to access “media content of a sexual nature that is capable of influencing their development,” whether teachers should be allowed to discuss “sexuality to their children without their consent,” and whether “sex reassignment treatment” should be promoted to young people.

The prime minister urged Hungarians to vote “No” on each. “LGBTQ activists visit kindergartens and schools and conduct sexual education classes,” he said in the video. “They want to do this here in Hungary as well.”

The move is a clear rebuke to European leaders, who have strongly denounced the anti-LGBTQ+ law since its passage. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutter urged Hungary to leave the EU over the discriminatory measure, saying Hungary has “no place” in the 27-country federation. Xavier Bettel, the openly gay PM of Luxembourg, reportedly confronted Orbán directly in a closed door meeting in June.

“My grandfather was Jewish, I’m gay and can live freely,” Bettel said in a meeting of EU leadership, as CNN reported. “And then I read this law. I know what happens when you turn people into a minority.”

Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, added that the EU’s executive branch would utilize “all powers available” to oppose the law, which she referred to as a “disgrace.” This includes a legal challenge under Article 21 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, which states that “stigmatizing LGBTIQ persons [constitutes] a clear breach of their fundamental right to dignity.”

The case could ultimately end up decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which has the ability to impose significant fines against Hungary. It could take years before the matter is resolved.

Orbán has yet to announce a date for the referendum, which will seemingly have no tangible impact on the EU lawsuit. While the questions must first be rubber stamped by Hungary’s election board, that hurdle is “likely a formality for Orbán, who’s stacked independent institutions with loyalists,” as Bloomberg reports.

The plebiscite would seem to be a slam-dunk for Orbán given that Hungary is a culturally conservative country where LGBTQ+ people face a great deal of opposition. Its nationalist government has enacted laws in the past year banning same-sex adoptions and outlawing transgender people from correcting their legal gender marker, although the latter was partially overturned by a court ruling.

But the referendum faces a significant obstacle: turnout. More than 50% of eligible voters have to cast a ballot for the result to be considered binding, and an anti-immigration plebiscite was voided in 2016 when only 43% of voters showed up, according to the Agence France Presse (AFP).

Orbán signaled he intends to press forward amid a tough reelection bid that could see him ousted for the first time since 2010. Opposition groups, which plan to boycott the referendum, are engaging in unprecedented organizing to vote him out.

“When the pressure on our homeland is so great, then only the will of the people is able to defend Hungary,” Orbán said on Facebook.

Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for them.’s weekly newsletter here.



READ NEWS SOURCE

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.