Hungary LGBT activists’ outrage at law

ACTIVISTS in Hungary erected a 10-metre-high rainbow-coloured heart opposite the country’s neo-Gothic parliament, vowing to wage a civil disobedience campaign against a new law that they say discriminates against LGBT people and that has raised questions about what values the European Union stands for.

The law, which came into effect on Thursday, prohibits the display of content depicting homosexuality or sex reassignment to minors, but critics say its goal is to marginalise and stigmatise the LGBT community as the country marches to the right under prime minister Viktor Orban.

The law has drawn intense opposition in Hungary and from the EU and has become a significant battleground in the fight over what the bloc represents.

Mr Orban and some other rightwing leaders of member states have been at the forefront of that fight, challenging the EU’s traditional “liberal consensus” by refusing to accept migrants.

“We think that the only path we can pursue is civil disobedience, and we will not change anything about our activities,” Luca Dudits, a spokesperson for Hatter Society, Hungary’s largest LGBT advocacy group, said.