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Hungary's Parliament has approved a national referendum on LGBTQ issues. The outcome's impact on LGBTQ rights remains uncertain.
The Hungarian Parliament just passed a resolution to hold an upcoming referendum on LGBTQ issues.
At first glance, we could think that this is a good thing. But we need to look closer at the situation in Hungary and how they’re treating LGBTQ citizens to understand that it’s not that good.
During his term in office, Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government have defined marriage as a union between one man and woman in the country’s constitution.
The government has also banned transgender and intersex people from changing their gender on identity documents in May 2020.
Still, in 2020, LGBTQ people have been banned from adopting. In the past, while same-sex couples could not adopt a child, an LGBTQ individual could do so on their own behalf until the Hungarian government made it illegal.
In June of this year, a law that enables “stricter action against pedophile offenders and the protection of children” by banning the “portrayal and the promotion of gender identity different from sex at birth, the change of sex, and homosexuality,” aimed at minors, was adopted.
The law has had a major impact on many people like teachers, health providers, artists, and others as it introduced provisions to many areas, including the Child Protection Act, the Act on Business Advertising Activity, the Media Act, the Family Protection Act, and the Public Education Act.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the measures were not targeted at anyone in particular but were aimed solely to protect children and families.
The European Commission has stepped up to investigate after the Hungarian government passed these measures that target LGBTQ people. And last summer, the Commission launched two legal cases against Hungary for violations of the European Union’s freedom of expression and nondiscrimination laws.
The upcoming referendum on LGBTQ issues isn’t about expanding LGBTQ rights or letting the people decide.
The Hungarian government is trying to absolve itself of the treatment the LGBTQ community has received. By telling the European Union that their people are able and willing with freedom of choice to be anti-LGBTQ, they can avoid any future consequences for oppressing those individuals.
There are four questions that will be asked in this referendum on LGBTQ issues, and they all deal with the sex-education programs and gender identity curriculum in schools and sexual content to be seen in the media.
“The Hungarian government proposes that citizens should have a chance to express their stance on the issues of gender propaganda,” Deputy Minister Balazs Orban told parliament.
“We are committed. We believe that we have to say no to LGBT propaganda in schools carried out with the help of NGOs and media, without parental consent.”
As you can see below, the questions are formulated in such a way as to push people to answer no. So, for example, they will be asked:
The date for this referendum hasn’t been announced yet, but Prime Minister Viktor Orban has proposed holding it on next year’s presidential election day. It is an opportunity for him to mobilize his conservative base.
Orban, seeking re-election as the country’s Prime Minister (Hungary’s equivalent of president), has launched a campaign against our community and what he calls “the LGBTQ propaganda.” Both “LGBTQ propaganda” and immigration are his favorite topics to portray himself as the true defender of Christian values.
In recent years, Viktor Orban’s conservative government has introduced legislation that targets our LGBTQ community.
I hope opponents will be able to mobilize and vote against him. This referendum is not only an opportunity to voice their opinion as LGBTQ individuals but also a chance for them, the Hungarian citizen, to protect their human rights!
And it came to light that Orban and his Fidesz party have been facing serious competition for the first time in over ten years. So it looks like there is hope yet after all!
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