EU backs Budapest Pride over Orban's curtailing of LGBTQ rights
With rainbow flags flying high, crowds began to gather on Saturday for a Budapest Pride march, defying a government ban that marks a major pushback against LGBTQ rights in the European Union.
Organisers expect a record turnout for the 30th annual Pride march in the Hungarian capital despite a police ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's nationalist government.
Akos Horvath, an 18-year-old student who came to Budapest from a city in southern Hungary, said it was 'of symbolic importance to come.'
'It's not just about representing gay people, but about standing up for the rights of the Hungarian people,' he said while on his way to the march after travelling for two hours.
Orbán's governing coalition amended laws and the constitution this year to prohibit the annual celebration, justifying his years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights on 'child protection' grounds.
Orbán said on Friday that while police would not 'break up' the Pride march, those who took part should be aware of 'legal consequences.'
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