The Albany Gazette - Budapest Pride to push for equality after reversed ban

Pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar ousted Orban from office after 16 years in the April elections, prompting relief inside the country's embattled LGBTQ community.

But Magyar has yet to take any specific measures to restore rights.

"This year's Pride will send an important signal to the new government: these issues are still relevant, and we still face exclusion in many areas of life," transgender activist Pippin Nadori from the Prizma Transgender Community group told AFP.

As the highest heat alert has been issued, with temperatures forecast to reach 38C in Budapest, march organisers said the parade would go ahead but have advised people, who are particularly vulnerable to the heat, to stay away.

On Friday, they urged "everyone to act responsibly and ensure their own safety and that of others".

Organisers of the Paris Pride March, which was also due to take place on Saturday, have postponed the event, after police ordered them to change the date to relieve pressure on emergency services during the heatwave gripping Europe.

- 'Open to discuss' -

In Budapest, Pride revellers are to gather at the capital's iconic Opera House, with the procession due to begin at 15:00 pm (1300 GMT).

Last year, more than 200,000 people took part in Budapest Pride defying a police ban, according to organisers, up from some 35,000 attendees in preceding years.

The record turnout was seen as a strong rebuke of Orban's years-long anti-LGBTQ crackdown in the name of "child protection".

During his campaign, Magyar steered away from addressing LGBTQ rights.

Since his election, Magyar has said his government should not be determining how Hungarians should live, adding it does not want to "barge into anyone's bedroom".

"We have made it clear that, in our view, everyone is free to love whom they want and live with whom they want, as long as they do not violate the law," he said, when asked earlier this month about allowing same-sex marriage and adoption.

"If there is a demand for us to discuss such socially and politically sensitive issues... we are open to that," he added.

- Rainbow flags -

The capital's largest outdoor music venue, Budapest Park -- which holds the official Pride after-party since 2018 -- hoisted a rainbow flag for the first time ever.

On the other hand, Budapest city authorities said earlier this week that Pride flags displayed on a downtown bridge had been removed and are believed to have been deliberately vandalised, vowing to put them up again for the march.

The legal environment has also changed.

The EU's top tribunal, the European Court of Justice, found that Hungary's 2021 anti-LGBTQ legislation -- which served as the basis for the Pride march ban -- was in breach of the bloc's rules in late April.

Police told AFP in May that they had "no grounds" to prohibit Budapest Pride, while prosecutors dropped criminal charges against the organisers of last year's parades, citing the landmark ruling.

But discriminatory regulations remain in the books, including a 2020 prohibition to change gender on official documents.

Orban's government also restricted adoption to married couples, effectively barring same-sex partners from adopting children in 2020.

Last week, several rights groups released a joint statement to urge the government to repeal legislation that makes such prohibitions as last year's Pride ban possible.

Rights group Amnesty International Hungary has also publicly urged the government to establish equal rights for same-sex couples.

The organisation cited a recent survey from pollster Median shows that 68 percent of Hungarians support both same-sex marriage and adoption.

(O.Robinson--TAG)