Hungarian anti-LGBT law

The Act LXXIX of 2021 on taking more severe action against paedophile offenders and amending certain Acts for the protection of children, often mentioned in English-language media as Hungary's anti-LGBT law, are legislative amendments that were approved by the Hungarian Parliament on 15 June 2021, on a 157–1 vote with most opposition parties at the time boycotting the vote. It was condemned by human rights groups and left-wing Hungarian opposition parties as discriminatory against the LGBT community. The EU and the United States consider the amendments to be discriminatory anti-LGBT restrictions. By contrast, most Eastern European EU countries did not take a public stance, apart from Poland, which supported the Hungarian position.

After the law was passed, the European Commission started infringement proceedings against Hungary for breaching guarantees of freedom of expression and non-discrimination in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

History
In April 2012, Jobbik, then a far-right nationalist party, tried to introduce a bill into the Hungarian parliament that would change the national constitution to allegedly "protect public morals and the mental health of the young generations" by banning the popularization of "sexual deviancy". The legislation was drafted by party spokesman Ádám Mirkóczki. This was to target "homosexuality, sex changes, transvestitism, bisexuality and paedophile behaviour". The proposed amendments would criminalise anyone who "popularizes their sexual relations—deviancy—with another person of the same sex, or other disturbances of sexual behaviour, before the wider public". The penalty would be three years in prison, or five years if 'popularizing' is done in front of minors. The draft legislation ultimately failed to pass.

The amendments
In May and June 2021, the National Assembly of Hungary was debating a new law supposed to better protect children from paedophiles by taking stricter action against paedophile criminals. In the parliamentary session of 15 June 2021, Fidesz MP Csaba Hende, Chairman of the Legislative Committee in the Hungarian Parliament and Deputy Speaker for Legislation, submitted legislative amendments to the law that banned sharing information with minors that are considered to be promoting homosexuality or gender reassignment and to restrict LGBT representation in the media by banning content depicting LGBT topics from daytime television and prohibiting companies from running campaigns in solidarity with the LGBT community. Violations of the law can be punished with fines or a prison sentence. The vague language used in the law raised fears among same sex couples that simple acts like holding hands on the street would end up labeled as "promotion of homosexuality" and lead to arrests. In addition, it declared that only individuals and organisations listed in an official register can provide sexual education in schools. According to a government spokesperson who made a statement after the legislation had been approved, the latter measures were to target "organisations with dubious professional background … often established for the representation of specific sexual orientations".

Members of the left-wing opposition parties (Hungarian Socialist Party, Democratic Coalition, LMP - Hungary's Green Party and Dialogue for Hungary), as well as some independent MPs such as Bernadett Szél, Ákos Hadházy and Szabolcs Szabó boycotted the session and didn't participate in the vote. The MPs who were present almost unanimously approved the legislation on a 157–1 vote. All present members of the ruling Fidesz party and of the right-wing opposition parties Jobbik and Mi Hazánk, as well as some independent MPs such as Imre Ritter voted in favour. Independent MP Sándor Székely voted against. The law was signed by President János Áder on 23 June and went into effect on 7 July 2021.

On 6 August 2021, an implementing regulation was issued and published in the official journal of Hungary (Magyar Közlöny) that declared that products intended for children that display or promote deviation from one's birth gender identity, gender reassignment or homosexuality and products portraying sexuality in a self-serving way must be sold separately from other products and in closed packaging and must not be placed in a store's window. Such products also must not be sold within two hundred metres (approximately 656 feet) of any entrances of educational institutions, premises of child and youth protection services, churches and other places dedicated to the practice of religion. The new legislation will enter into force thirty days from its issuing, and compliance will be monitored by the consumer protection authorities.

Reactions in Hungary
The amendments sparked a series of protests in Hungary by members and supporters of the LGBT community and by human rights groups. A petition and letter were written to President János Áder of Hungary, urging him not to sign the law. The online petition had been signed more than ten thousand times as of 7 August 2021.

The human rights group Amnesty International Hungary also asked people to sign its own petition made together with Budapest Pride, Háttér Society, Labrisz Leszbikus Egyesület, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee and TASZ (the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union) and supported by the LGBTQ section of the Hungarian Psychological Society, asking ombudsman Dr Ákos Kozma to send the law to the Constitutional Court of Hungary. The latter petition had been signed over eleven thousand times as of 7 August 2021.

International reactions
The bill was met with immediate condemnation from high-ranking officials of several EU countries and groups of the European Parliament. On 22 June 2021, the law was discussed in the Council of the European Union. In total, sixteen out of twenty-seven states condemned it, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg issuing a critical statement that called the law a breach of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and urged the European Commission to use all the tools at its disposal to ensure compliance with European laws, including recourse to the European Court of Justice. The statement was immediately endorsed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and Latvia, by Italy at the end of the meeting and by Austria and Greece on the following day. In a response to the statement, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó dismissed all negative opinions and urged critics to read the law in its entirety. According to Zoltán Kovács, Secretary of State for International Relations wrote in an opinion piece on Euronews.com that according to the law only parents should decide sexual education of their children.

The president of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen expressed concern and tweeted: "I believe in a Europe which embraces diversity, not one which hides it from our children. No one should be discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation".

The Embassy of the United States in Budapest expressed deep concern about Hungary's law being anti-LGBT and stated: "The United States stands for the idea that governments should promote freedom of expression and protect human rights, including the rights of members of the LGBTQI+ community".

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stated: "No discrimination is acceptable in any circumstances, and any discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people is totally unacceptable in our modern societies".

On 25 June 2021, the new Hungarian legislation was heavily discussed at a summit of the leaders of the EU. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán: "If you don't like it, there is also an alternative: leave the [European] Union". French President Emmanuel Macron said the law "doesn't seem to be in line with our values" and he hoped it could be changed through dialogue. Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg said he would tell Prime Minister Viktor Orbán he was wrong to conflate homosexuality with paedophilia within the law. Polish ambassador to Germany Andrzej Przylebski argued that it was "evident and beyond doubt" that the Hungarian parliament had the right to protect schoolchildren by law from having to deal with issues such as homosexuality and said: "This has nothing to do with intolerance, let alone persecuting homosexuals".

In Romania in August 2021, the Eurosceptic party Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), which has been described as far-right, proposed a similar law to the Hungarian law. This was also supported by the Hungarian-Romanian Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (RMDSZ), the Hungarian People's Party of Transylvania and the Hungarian Civic Party (Romania).

During the 2020 UEFA European Championship
On 23 June 2021, the German men's national football team was to host the Hungarian team at the Allianz Arena in Munich as part of the 2020 UEFA European Championship. A petition was started that asked Jürgen Muth, manager of the Allianz Arena, Aleksander Čeferin, president of the UEFA, Fritz Keller, president of the German Football Association and Andreas Jung, director of FC Bayern Munich to light the arena with rainbow colours in solidarity with the LGBT community of Hungary and in protest against the law. The petition was signed over three hundred thousand times, but it was rejected by the UEFA that issued a statement saying that "UEFA (...) is a politically and religiously neutral organization. Given the political context of this specific request ― a message aiming at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament ― UEFA must decline this request." Instead, they suggested that the arena be lit up on another day. Mayor Dieter Reiter of Munich called the decision "shameful", while Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó of Hungary welcomed the decision as a sign of "common sense".

The city of Munich lit up its town hall and several other landmarks in rainbow colours to protest the decision, alongside several German football clubs illuminating their stadiums with a rainbow flag for the duration of the game.

Human rights
In July 2021, the European Commission started infringement proceedings against Hungary for breaching guarantees of freedom of expression and non-discrimination in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Hungarian government announced a referendum on the law which was held on 3 April 2022. The share of valid votes on the referendum was below the required 50%, thus it became invalid but the law remained in force.

In December 2021, the Venice Commission released its findings that the law conflicted with the European Convention on Human Rights and other international human rights standards. The law was too vague to meet the requirement of foreseeability, infringed on the right of freedom of expression, and discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

European Union infringement procedures
On 15 July 2021, the EU Commission announced it had opened infringement procedures by sending a letter of formal notice. On 2 December, the EU Commission announced it had sent a reasoned opinion to Hungary. On 15 July 2022, the Commission referred the case to the European Court of Justice, not having received an adequate response from Hungary. As of April 2023, 15 member states (Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Ireland, Malta, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Finland and Greece) have joined the case.

Aftermath and effects on the Hungarian LGBT community
According to a report by Hungarian LGBTQI civil organisation, Háttér Society, there was a surge in homophobic attacks after the introduction of the new law. The report added that verbal aggression was the most frequent, with some conflicts escalating into threats of violence and even committing violent acts against LGBT people or harming their property. One of Hungary's largest commercial TV Channels, RTL Klub, refused to air public service adverts for the 2022 Budapest Pride festival, arguing that airing such content was banned by the anti-LGBT law. In 2021, RTL, afraid that the movie Jenny's Wedding would be banned by the law, contacted the Media Council of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority, who re-assessed the categorization of the movie by declaring it unsuitable for minors under the age 18. The movie has no nudity or sex, and has received a PG-13 categorization in the US, 12 in the UK and 7 in Spain. In 2023, the Media Council ruled that a short flm promoting Budapest Pride could only be shown between 10 pm and 5 am, a ruling which RTL as well as Budapest Pride filed a complaint against.

Kamaszpanasz, a young health website, deleted LGBTQ content and re-categorized the remainder as not suitable under 18, even those that simply explained the meaning of "sexual orientation". Content discussing straight sex practices was not removed, neither re-categorized. In June 2021, Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Humanities posted an LGBTQ booklet on its official Instagram page, only for it to be removed a few days later due to external pressure of the far-right Sixty-Four Counties Youth Movement. The university subsequently argued that they would not be able to republish the LGBTQ booklet as it would be illegal under the anti-LGBT law. Cosmetics company NYX Professional Makeup restricted its Hungarian Instagram page for people under 18 years out of fear they might violate the law due to the occasional presence of rainbow colored makeups and Pride related challenges. International companies such as Coca-Cola, H&M and Levi's have likewise ceased making Hungarian Pride related advertisements since the adoption of the anti-LGBT law.

The sale of books with LGBTQI content has faced the most severe difficulties since the adoption of the law. Labrisz, the publisher of A Fairytale for Everyone, had to raise the price of the book from 3000 HUF to 3500 HUF due to being required by the anti-LGBT law to sell it in a separate packaging. In addition, the book has to be kept inaccessible to customers who have to ask for it specifically in a bookshop. Books about war criminals and mass murderers are accessible without any restriction and placed at the eye height of children. As a result, since the adoption of the law, sales of A Fairytale for Everyone have collapsed. Libraries have also been affected, The Government Office of Pest County inspected the public library of Nagymaros after receiving a public notification that A Fairytale for Everyone was available on an open shelf, but the book was removed before inspectors arrived so no proceedings were initiated against the library.

The anti-LGBT law prescribes that only experts and organizations that are registered by a special public body may conduct sexual education in schools. However, for over 12 months since the passage of the law no public body facilitating such registrations had been established. As a result, teachers are unable to invite any experts to talk about sexuality. This de facto ban has been implemented so broadly that even an NGO with a human rights educations program that does not focus on LGBTQ issues was still banned from schools that they have been working with for many years. Some schools have privately revealed to Háttér Society that only conservative NGOs linked to Orbán's FIDESZ can be invited without being registered. In addition, several teachers, school psychologists and nurses have reported that they have been banned from discussing LGBT issues with their students. Those that try to maintain a supportive approach with their students are put under immense pressure, as they risk having their name and photo appearing on a public list of teachers, compiled by a far-right news portal. Even the private lives of school professionals aren't left untouched; according to Háttér Society, one school psychologist who in her free time works as an LGBTQ rights activist, was asked by her school to sign a document to promise not to mention during her activism that she works as a school psychologist. A lesbian teacher was forced to quit after being pressured by the director of the school. A child was prevented from picking a rainbow as her kindergarten sign, out of the school's fear of violating the law.