Latest news with #LGBTQ+
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Tens of thousands expected to attend Budapest Pride in defiance of ban
Tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ rights supporters are expected to attend the Budapest Pride march on Saturday, defying a police ban as the event has become a symbol of the years-long struggle between Hungary 's nationalist government and civil society. Prime minister Viktor Orban 's government has gradually curtailed the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade, and its lawmakers passed a law in March that allows for the ban of Pride, citing the need to protect children. Opponents see the move as part of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms in advance of a general election next year when Orban will face a strong opposition challenger. Organisers said they expect tens of thousands to attend, with participants arriving from 30 different countries, including European Commissioner for Equality Hadja Lahbib and about 70 members of the European Parliament. READ MORE More than 30 embassies have expressed support for the march and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called on Hungarian authorities to let the parade go ahead. Seventy Hungarian civil society groups, including the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Transparency International Hungary and the Hungarian Helsinki Commission, published an open letter on Friday in support of the march, saying the law that led to the police ban 'serves to intimidate the entire society'. Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony tried to circumvent the law by organising the march as a municipal event, which he said does not need a permit. However, police banned the event, arguing that it fell under the scope of the child protection law. Mr Orban, whose government promotes a Christian-conservative agenda, provided clues on Friday about what participants can expect when he warned of 'legal consequences' for organising and attending the march. [ Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman to take part in banned Budapest Pride march Opens in new window ] Earlier this week justice minister Bence Tuzson warned in a letter sent to some foreign embassies in Budapest that organising a prohibited event is punishable by one year in jail, while attending counts as a misdemeanour. The law that allows for the ban of Pride lets police impose fines and use facial recognition cameras to identify people who attend. When asked about the threat of a one-year jail term, Mr Karacsony said at a press briefing on Friday that such a sentence would only boost his popularity. 'But I cannot take it seriously,' he said. Making the march a key topic of political discourse has allowed the Orban government to take the initiative back from the opposition and mobilise its voter base, said Zoltan Novak, an analyst at the Centre for Fair Political Analysis think tank. [ A quarter of major US corporate backers pull out of Dublin Pride over Trump fears Opens in new window ] 'In the past 15 years, Fidesz decided what topics dominated the political world,' he said, noting that this has become more difficult as Orban's party has faced an increasing challenge from centre-right opposition leader Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which has a 15-point lead over Orban's Fidesz in a recent poll. Tisza, which has been avoiding taking a strong position on gay rights issues, did not specify in response to Reuters questions whether it believed the Pride march was lawful, but said those attending deserved the state's protection. 'Peter Magyar has called on the Hungarian authorities and police to protect the Hungarian people this Saturday, and on other days as well, even if it means standing up against the arbitrariness of power,' its press office said. Mr Magyar himself will not attend. – Reuters
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
A history of Pride flags
The Pride flag has gone through many iterations over the years because it has been progressing with the community to advance inclusion. Morgan Evans from the Edmonton Queer History Project runs us through the history.
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Budapest Pride expected to be a rallying cry against Orbán's rollback of rights
Record numbers of people are expected to take part in Budapest Pride on Saturday, with Hungarians joining forces with campaigners and politicians from across Europe in a march that has become a potent symbol of pushback against the Hungarian government's steady rollback of rights. 'This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest,' Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, told reporters in the Hungarian capital on Friday. 'This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march. It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else.' The country's main Pride march was cast into doubt earlier this year after the country's ruling Fidesz party – led by the rightwing populist Viktor Orbán – backed legislation that created a legal basis for Pride to be banned, citing a widely criticised need to protect children. The government also said it would use facial recognition software to identify people attending any banned events, potentially fining them up to €500 (£425). The move caused outrage from within Hungary and beyond, turning Budapest Pride into a rallying cry against a government that has long faced criticism for weakening democratic institutions and gradually undermining the rule of law. Lahbib said the EU was standing alongside LGBTQ+ people. 'It is a core value to gather peacefully, to be who you are, to love who you want,' she said. 'These are the core values that generations before us have built, brick by brick, and we are not going to allow any kind of regression from one of our member states.' Organisers of Budapest Pride, which this year will mark its 30th anniversary, said the government was attempting to restrict peaceful protests by targeting them. 'This event was one of the important milestones of the LGBTQ community,' said its spokesperson Máté Hegedüs. 'Our slogan this year is that we are at home. By this, we want to draw attention to the fact that LGBTQ people are an integral part of Hungarian society, just as any other people. In our history, in our culture, this is where we belong.' Hours before the march was due to begin, however, uncertainty loomed over how officials would react. While Orbán has said that those who attend or organise the march will face 'legal consequences', he said Hungary was a 'civilised country' and police would not 'break it up … It cannot reach the level of physical abuse'. Nicolae Ștefănuță, the vice-president of the European parliament, on Friday called on police to respect those attending. 'I would like to say that the police and institutions of the state have a duty to protect the citizens,' he said. 'It's as clear as possible.' The sentiment was echoed in a petition, signed by more than 120,000 people spanning 73 countries, that called on police to 'reject this unjust law' – believed to be the first of its kind in the EU's recent history – and ensure that the march proceeded 'unhindered and peacefully, free from discrimination, harassment, fear or violence'. Despite uncertainty, tens of thousands of Hungarians are expected to take part. Joining them will be politicians and rights campaigners from more than 30 countries, including Ireland's former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Spain's minister of culture, Ernest Urtasun, more than 70 members of the European parliament, and the mayors of Brussels and Amsterdam. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, this week joined calls for Hungarian authorities to allow the event to go ahead. Orbán was swift to hit back, likening it to receiving orders from Moscow in communist times. 'She thinks she can dictate to Hungarians from Brussels how they should live,' he said in a radio interview. The widespread pushback, both domestic and international, had seemingly done little to dissuade the Hungarian government. This week, the country's justice minister, Bence Tuzson, appeared to warn embassy staff from attending the event. 'The legal situation is clear: the Pride parade is a legally banned assembly,' he said in a letter seen by the Guardian. 'Those who take part in an event prohibited by the authorities commit an infraction,' he said, adding that those organising or announcing the event faced up to a year in prison. The progressive mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, has said the gathering will instead go ahead as a municipal event, meaning it will not require official authorisation. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The result was an 'extraordinary scenario', said Márta Pardavi of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation. 'Currently the legal situation is quite unclear – it is unclear whether this will be a demonstration that the police have banned or whether it will be some other type of event, as Mayor Karácsony has talked about.' The NGO has joined forces with two other organisations to produce a Q&A for the event, addressing concerns such as whether attenders risk being fired from their jobs and whether being fined could later jeopardise university entrance or foreign travel. The organisations have also promised to provide legal aid to any participants who are fined. Complicating matters were three countermarches planned on Saturday by groups with ties to the extreme right, said Pardavi. 'This means you will have a lot of people with very, very different views on the streets,' she said. Analysts have described the government's hardline stance against Pride as another move in its years-long rollback of LGBTQ+ rights. This time, however, it comes as Orbán faces an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz party's elite, Péter Magyar, before next year's elections, leading organisers to suggest they are being scapegoated as Orbán scrambles to shore up support among conservative voters. The widespread view has led Hungarians from all walks of life – including many who have never marched before – to take part in Saturday's event. 'These are the actions of a government in the run-up to an election they fear they will lose, so they are trying to distract public attention from their deep corruption and unpopularity,' said Andrew Ryder, who is among a group of academics from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest who will be joining the march in solidarity. 'I am deeply concerned that my home, Hungary, is on a trajectory that will lead to fascism,' he said. 'However, the mood of the country is turning and if Hungary can restore its democracy it could be a model for other countries trying to overcome authoritarianism.' Nearly 50 organisations from across Europe have meanwhile urged EU officials to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary, citing the possibility that real-time facial recognition would be used on attenders. If so, it would be a 'glaring violation' of the EU's recently adopted Artificial Intelligence Act, the letter noted. Hungarian officials have yet to release details on how the technology will be deployed. 'Hungary's use of facial recognition to surveil Pride events marks a worrying change in how new technologies can be used to suppress dissent and target marginalised communities,' the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, one of the signatories of the letter, said in a statement. It said it risked a 'dangerous precedent by normalising invasive monitoring of peaceful gatherings and undermining civil liberties'.
CBS News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Thousands join 22nd annual Trans March in San Francisco
The 22nd annual Trans March took place in San Francisco on Friday night. It's one of the largest events of its kind in the world. Organizers say it was more important than ever to come together this year and support each other. Roughly 20,000 people marched from Dolores Park to the Tenderloin, as one trans community supporting each other. The Reyes-Hodges family marched for the first time, with their daughter recently coming out as trans. "Coming out myself when I was young, that was hard," said Nancy Hodges. "I can't imagine how hard that was for my parents. Then when she came out, it was like crap." "As a mother, just thinking about the obstacles she will face," said Zulma Reyes. "Not about the physical or anything about the transition itself, because I will support her no matter what. But what are the obstacles and challenges? Life is already hard enough." Pothi Reyes Hodges says she was nervous and cried as she told her parents about her transition but at this march feels lucky to be supported by the community and by her parents. "I'd rather they be here with than not," Hodges said. "It means a lot that they both came out here." "We love her, so that is what it is," said Hodges. "I'd much rather have her here with me and with us than not at all because they don't feel accepted." Organizers of the Trans March say this year's event is an act of resistance. To be trans is to transcend the idea of every binary that exists," organizer Eli Berry said. "Nothing is about either or." Berry said that with a wave of anti-trans legislation introduced this year, it was especially important for the trans community to speak out. "There's an argument of whether trans should be in LGBT," Berry said. "However, for me, trans people are disproportionately impacted. What that means is there's not even that much of us, but there are more of us that get arrested. More of us that are homeless. More of us that can't get jobs." Many say seeing this turnout gives them hope for the future. That one day trans people will be accepted and understood. "We're all on this earth for so little," said Reyes. "Such a small amount of time. All we want is happiness, love to just live life."
The Guardian
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Budapest Pride expected to be a rallying cry against Orbán's rollback of rights
Record numbers of people are expected to take part in Budapest Pride on Saturday, with Hungarians joining forces with campaigners and politicians from across Europe in a march that has become a potent symbol of pushback against the Hungarian government's steady rollback of rights. 'This weekend, all eyes are on Budapest,' Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality, told reporters in the Hungarian capital on Friday. 'This is bigger than one Pride celebration, one Pride march. It is about the right to be who you are, to love who you want, whether it is in Budapest, in Brussels or anywhere else.' The country's main Pride march was cast into doubt earlier this year after the country's ruling Fidesz party – led by the rightwing populist Viktor Orbán – backed legislation that created a legal basis for Pride to be banned, citing a widely criticised need to protect children. The government also said it would use facial recognition software to identify people attending any banned events, potentially fining them up to €500 (£425). The move caused outrage from within Hungary and beyond, turning Budapest Pride into a rallying cry against a government that has long faced criticism for weakening democratic institutions and gradually undermining the rule of law. Lahbib said the EU was standing alongside LGBTQ+ people. 'It is a core value to gather peacefully, to be who you are, to love who you want,' she said. 'These are the core values that generations before us have built, brick by brick, and we are not going to allow any kind of regression from one of our member states.' Organisers of Budapest Pride, which this year will mark its 30th anniversary, said the government was attempting to restrict peaceful protests by targeting them. 'This event was one of the important milestones of the LGBTQ community,' said its spokesperson Máté Hegedüs. 'Our slogan this year is that we are at home. By this, we want to draw attention to the fact that LGBTQ people are an integral part of Hungarian society, just as any other people. In our history, in our culture, this is where we belong.' Hours before the march was due to begin, however, uncertainty loomed over how officials would react. While Orbán has said that those who attend or organise the march will face 'legal consequences', he said Hungary was a 'civilised country' and police would not 'break it up … It cannot reach the level of physical abuse'. Nicolae Ștefănuță, the vice-president of the European parliament, on Friday called on police to respect those attending. 'I would like to say that the police and institutions of the state have a duty to protect the citizens,' he said. 'It's as clear as possible.' The sentiment was echoed in a petition, signed by more than 120,000 people spanning 73 countries, that called on police to 'reject this unjust law' – believed to be the first of its kind in the EU's recent history – and ensure that the march proceeded 'unhindered and peacefully, free from discrimination, harassment, fear or violence'. Despite uncertainty, tens of thousands of Hungarians are expected to take part. Joining them will be politicians and rights campaigners from more than 30 countries, including Ireland's former taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Spain's minister of culture, Ernest Urtasun, more than 70 members of the European parliament, and the mayors of Brussels and Amsterdam. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, this week joined calls for Hungarian authorities to allow the event to go ahead. Orbán was swift to hit back, likening it to receiving orders from Moscow in communist times. 'She thinks she can dictate to Hungarians from Brussels how they should live,' he said in a radio interview. The widespread pushback, both domestic and international, had seemingly done little to dissuade the Hungarian government. This week, the country's justice minister, Bence Tuzson, appeared to warn embassy staff from attending the event. 'The legal situation is clear: the Pride parade is a legally banned assembly,' he said in a letter seen by the Guardian. 'Those who take part in an event prohibited by the authorities commit an infraction,' he said, adding that those organising or announcing the event faced up to a year in prison. The progressive mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, has said the gathering will instead go ahead as a municipal event, meaning it will not require official authorisation. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The result was an 'extraordinary scenario', said Márta Pardavi of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights organisation. 'Currently the legal situation is quite unclear – it is unclear whether this will be a demonstration that the police have banned or whether it will be some other type of event, as Mayor Karácsony has talked about.' The NGO has joined forces with two other organisations to produce a Q&A for the event, addressing concerns such as whether attenders risk being fired from their jobs and whether being fined could later jeopardise university entrance or foreign travel. The organisations have also promised to provide legal aid to any participants who are fined. Complicating matters were three countermarches planned on Saturday by groups with ties to the extreme right, said Pardavi. 'This means you will have a lot of people with very, very different views on the streets,' she said. Analysts have described the government's hardline stance against Pride as another move in its years-long rollback of LGBTQ+ rights. This time, however, it comes as Orbán faces an unprecedented challenge from a former member of the Fidesz party's elite, Péter Magyar, before next year's elections, leading organisers to suggest they are being scapegoated as Orbán scrambles to shore up support among conservative voters. The widespread view has led Hungarians from all walks of life – including many who have never marched before – to take part in Saturday's event. 'These are the actions of a government in the run-up to an election they fear they will lose, so they are trying to distract public attention from their deep corruption and unpopularity,' said Andrew Ryder, who is among a group of academics from Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest who will be joining the march in solidarity. 'I am deeply concerned that my home, Hungary, is on a trajectory that will lead to fascism,' he said. 'However, the mood of the country is turning and if Hungary can restore its democracy it could be a model for other countries trying to overcome authoritarianism.' Nearly 50 organisations from across Europe have meanwhile urged EU officials to launch an infringement procedure against Hungary, citing the possibility that real-time facial recognition would be used on attenders. If so, it would be a 'glaring violation' of the EU's recently adopted Artificial Intelligence Act, the letter noted. Hungarian officials have yet to release details on how the technology will be deployed. 'Hungary's use of facial recognition to surveil Pride events marks a worrying change in how new technologies can be used to suppress dissent and target marginalised communities,' the Civil Liberties Union for Europe, one of the signatories of the letter, said in a statement. It said it risked a 'dangerous precedent by normalising invasive monitoring of peaceful gatherings and undermining civil liberties'.
