On Monday, Hungary’s parliament adopted this controversial, ill-fated constitutional amendment. This law now allows the state government to shutter any public event organized by LGBTQ+ communities. The ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at the helm, introduced the amendment. It represents one of the most extreme attacks on LGBTQ+ rights in the nation. It not only codifies existing laws against such events but enshrines a definition of gender that recognizes only two sexes: male and female.
This latest law is part of the Hungarian government’s ongoing culture war against LGBTQ+ communities. They are re-framing their attacks, saying that they are all about child protection. The bill prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to people under the age of 18. Critics have said this law is more about persecuting LGBTQ+ people than it is about protecting children. The amendment ultimately passed with 140 Ayes to only 21 Noes. This party-line vote exemplifies the increasing partisan headwinds brewing as we get closer to the 2026 elections.
Legislative Background and Implications
The parliamentary vote to reform the constitution occurred against a context of extreme political polarization. Most interpreted it as another culture war tactic by the Orbán government, part of a decades long effort to consolidate power and deflect attention from more pressing national concerns. Critics are blasting the amendment on all sides. They claim it drives us further toward an authoritarian state and violates fundamental norms of democracy such as the right to freedom of assembly.
The amendment effectively codifies restrictions on all LGBTQ+ public gatherings—such as large events like Budapest’s Pride. It further adds wholly new, detailed provisions affecting route to citizenship. Hungarians who hold dual citizenship in countries outside the European Economic Area may see their Hungarian citizenship suspended. This measure is taken only when they are deemed a danger to public order or security. Yet this dual focus on LGBTQ+ rights and citizenship raises alarming questions about the implications for civil liberties and civic space in Hungary more generally.
“It is definitely and purely and strictly about humiliating people and excluding them, not just from the national community, but even from the community of human beings,” – Dánel Döbrentey, lawyer with the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union.
Government Rationale and Criticism
The Hungarian government has repeatedly defended the amendment while invoking the context of its overall “child protection” agenda. Supporters claim that it’s crucial to protect children from what they term “woke ideology” and “gender madness.” Zoltán Kovács, a government spokesperson, emphasized that the amendment represents “not an attack on individual self-expression, but a clarification that legal norms are based on biological reality.”
Yet legal experts and human rights advocates have pushed back on these claims. They argue that the government’s motivations are rooted in political expediency rather than genuine concern for children’s welfare. Many critics contend these measures do not do enough to protect minors. They argue such actions are meant to distract from the real societal challenges Hungary is currently undergoing.
“This whole endeavor which we see launched by the government, it has nothing to do with children’s rights,” – Dánel Döbrentey.
Reactions from Legal Experts and Activists
Responses from legal scholars, advocates, and activists were rightly harsh on the amendment. Most people think that it’s an unjustified and extreme violatory of personal liberty and civil rights. Such legislation goes further to chill public discourse and assembly. People will be afraid to speak their conscience for fear of being hunted down and persecuted.
Remport, a legal analyst, pointed out that “more salient in this case is the effect on the freedom of assembly, specifically the chilling effect that arises when people are scared to go out and show their political or ideological beliefs for fear of being persecuted.” This feeling is corroborated by several international human rights organizations which are concerned about the passing of an increasingly authoritarian rule in Hungary.
The passage of this amendment drew immediate criticism from across the globe. Human rights activists are organizing to fight back against these regressive legislative changes. She argues that these amendments violate the basic freedoms protected under international law.
