A city court in the Hungarian capital of Budapest has overruled police efforts to deny permits to Gay Pride Parade organizers, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The court says the parade, which expects to draw nearly 2,000 participants on July 7, can still go down at the planned time and date.
Police have often tried to shut down Gay Pride in Budapest, with the conservative political party using similar reasoning to St. Petersburg’s recent ban on the “public promotion of homosexuality” (which could become a national reality in Russia).
Says the WSJ:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Like in recent years, the police refused to grant permission for the Budapest Pride, saying the march would restrict commuters’ right to free movement. The court said, however, that traffic can be diverted from a road that otherwise frequently hosts marathons and bicycle rides.
Some organizations and a parliamentary opposition party in Hungary have said the march should be banned because it would set “a bad example” for children. Radical Jobbik party last week submitted an amended proposal of its original bill aimed at protecting “public morals and the mental health of the young generations” from homosexuality, transsexuality, transvestitism, bisexuality, and pedophilia, said MP Adam Mirkoczki, the bill’s proponent. The amendment seeks to outlaw “promotion of sexual deviations.”
CHIP1218
This same extreme right party is the defacto police union of Hungary…
Houston Bill
This is exactly what happened last year. And what will happen every year that the repulsive Fidusz regime rules in Hungary. They managed to ‘redistrict’ so that a 53% of the vote resulted in a 70% majority in Parliament. They have now changed the Constitution to give straight women 2 votes for each vote allocated to Gay men. They’ve completely taken all broadcast media in the nation.
However, Hungary’s fiscal situation is just as bad as in Greece. They need assistance from the ECB and the IMF. And given Fidusz’s wrongheaded economic decisions, they will continue to need them for years to come.
This is a bad situation, but for the time being, freedom of protest is allowed in Hungary. Barely. Freedom of press, and one-person one-vote, not so much.
comus
I was never tear gassed until the 2008 Budapest Pride Fest. Scary stuff.
Houston Bill
Comus, Last year…the police arrested Austrian Gays because some skinheads(!) lied tot he police claiming that the Austrian Gays had attacked the skinheads. The Police in Budapest are very anti-Gay.
I don’t expect the Hungarian Police Forces to act with any professionalism for any time soon.
Danny
And some people thought the Fascists went away after World War II in Europe. They only hibernated.