On Tuesday, March 18th, the Hungarian Parliament adopted new legislation to ban Pride parades and public events promoting LGBT identities—a measure intended to protect children from being influenced by harmful ideologies at an early age.
Despite leftist lawmakers attempting to disrupt the session by filling the chamber with plumes of brightly colored smoke, the vote was passed by an unusually wide margin. More than four of every five MPs supported banning Pride—not only from the ruling national conservative Fidesz but also from two opposition parties.
Child protection:
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) March 18, 2025
Pride march:
Today, we voted to ban gatherings that violate child protection laws. In Hungary, a child’s right to healthy physical, mental, intellectual, and moral development comes first. We won’t let woke ideology endanger our kids.
The legislation is meant to protect children from early exposure to LGBT ideologies by prohibiting the organization of public events which “promote and present gender nonconformity, gender reassignment, and homosexuality,” and stipulates that organizers of and attendees at such events could be subject to fines of between €15 and €500.
The new law was adopted as an amendment to the existing Child Protection Act from 2021, which banned the promotion of LGBT issues in middle schools and prime time TV shows. The European Union already sued Hungary over the law, but the conservative government has no plans to back down.
The law was passed by 136 votes in favor and 27 against, resulting in a 83.4% support rate. Besides the MPs of the ruling Fidesz (PfE) party, it was also supported by two opposition parties, the nationalist Our Homeland (ESN), and the center-right Jobbik.
The vote was disturbed by members of the progressive Momentum party, who flooded the chamber with brightly colored smoke while yelling “We can’t let you!” They also began to play the Soviet anthem and scattered pictures of PM Viktor Orbán and President Putin kissing each other before they were escorted out of the room.
Turmoil erupts in the Hungarian Parliament with the passage of a new law prohibiting LGBTQ Pride marches. pic.twitter.com/aLvAaOT2nS
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 18, 2025
Apart from the stunt being completely pointless—except for supplying suitable imagery to hostile foreign media—it was also quite unoriginal, being a carbon copy of what the Serbian opposition parties pulled in Belgrade a few weeks ago.
Besides, while Momentum (Renew) may have 10 MPs at the moment, they lost all their seats in the European Parliament last year and are on track to disappear from the domestic scene as well, currently polling below 1%.
Needless to say, the other members of the Parliament were not amused by the stunt. “Pyrotechnics and toxic smoke were used in an enclosed space to try to prevent today’s vote,” Máté Kocsis, Fidesz’ parliamentary leader said afterward, adding that one MP suffering from lung complications had to be given emergency medical care after the incident. “What’s next, you morons, are you going to set the building on fire?”
