Latest news with #LGBTQCommunity
BBC News
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
LGBTQ+ groups proud of Pride after 10 years
A LGBTQ+ group leader said there is more acceptance of its community since Pride began in the Channel Islands 10 Pride started, CEO of Liberate Guernsey Ellie Jones said there was a sense of "shame" for islanders who often felt unable to express their true selves."People have said they have left the island when they were younger because they thought it was slightly homophobic or they didn't fit in," said Ms Jones."To then come back to experience Pride, to be walking down the high street, that emotion of feeling you are accepted and included and not ostracised is the biggest shift." Ms Jones said: "I think we kind of underestimate the power of being able to see your community embrace you." The first Pride event was held in Jersey in 2015 and the year after it was held in Jones said organisers of the first Pride event only expected a few hundred attendees, but instead they welcomed thousands. She said between 2,000 and 3,000 islanders took part in the first year and this has grown to about 8,000 attendees. 'Feel safe' Ms Jones said there had been a noticeable rise in anti-LGBTQ groups around the world in the last 12 months, and highlighted the importance of hosting similar events."It just goes to show how Pride is still needed and for people to understand and accept people in the community," added Ms Jones."People are allowed to celebrate who they are, and we don't need to hide anymore or feel shameful about who we are."Pride may be the one-day couples feel safe holding hands in the street." Kaye Nicholson, CEO of Liberate Jersey thanked the dedicated voluntary work of the Channel Island Pride team for putting on the Pride events, adding there was a wonderful celebratory atmosphere at for its 10th anniversary earlier this said: "At a time when our LGBTQ+ community are seeing a rollback of rights around the world, this was a vital demonstration of support, love and acceptance by our wider local community."Thank you to everyone who joined as attendees, volunteers, performers, valued community partners and allies."
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Biggest-ever Budapest Pride defies Orban ban in Hungary
Record numbers of people marched in the Budapest Pride parade Saturday, defying a government ban that marked a major pushback against LGBTQ rights in the European Union. Organisers estimated up to 200,000 people had taken part in the 30th parade in the Hungarian capital, which was held in a festive atmosphere with rainbow flags flying high. Those numbers far exceed the previous record turnout of 35,000 people and come in spite of a police ban imposed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's nationalist government. The governing coalition amended its laws and the constitution this year to prohibit the annual celebration, justifying his years-long clampdown on LGBTQ rights on "child protection" grounds. But the opposition-run Budapest city hall decided to co-host the march so it could go ahead. "I am proud to be gay... and I am very scared that the government wants to bring us down," one participant, 66-year-old Zoltan, told AFP. I am very surprised that there are so many people, I want to cry," he added. He declined to give his full name. - 'Big embarrassment' - Orban said Friday that while police would not break up the Pride march, those who took part should be aware of "legal consequences". Parade organisers risk up to a year in prison, and attendees can face fines up to 500 euros ($590). The latest legal changes also empower the authorities to use facial-recognition technology to identify those taking part, and cameras have recently been installed on lamp posts along the parade route. Szabolcs Pek, lead analyst at research centre Iranytu Institute, said it would be difficult for Orban's Fidesz party to respond to the high turnout. "This is a big embarrassment for Fidesz," he told AFP. The march began chaotically under a scorching sun. Marchers repeatedly had to pause to wait for police to stop traffic, according to AFP journalists at the scene. "I definitely wanted to come, if only to show my solidarity, and to show how important this issue is -- not only to me, but to almost everyone living in Budapest," economics student Marcell Szanto, 22, told AFP. Dozens of European lawmakers also attended in defiance of the ban. - 'Love can't be banned' - "Freedom and love can't be banned," read one huge poster put up near city hall, the gathering point for the march. Earlier this week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called on the Hungarian authorities to reverse the ban. Thirty-three nations, including most EU countries, have also released a statement in support of the march. And at a news conference Saturday, several French MEPs called on the EU to take tougher measures against Orban's government over the crackdown on civil rights and other rule-of-law issues. Since Orban's return to power in 2010, the country of 9.6 million people has been steadily rolling back LGBTQ rights. It is the first EU nation to ban a Pride march, and Orban has said he has been emboldened by the anti-diversity push by US President Donald Trump. Some people also gathered along the route to protest LGBTQ rights, in demonstrations called by far-right groups, one of which featured a wooden cross adorned with protest messages. But opposition leader Peter Magyar said on Facebook that the government "scored not a goal, but a huge own goal with their attempt to ban today's event". Budapest mayor Gergely Karacsony in a post noting the big turnout thanked Orban "for advertising for a more tolerant society". One woman, who gave only her first name, Katalin, told AFP she agreed with the ban though she hoped there would be no clashes. "Disgusting... it's become a fad to show off ourselves," she said. ros-bg-jza/jj
Washington Post
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Around 100,000 march in Budapest Pride in defiance of Hungary's ban
BUDAPEST, Hungary — Around 100,000 people defied a government ban and police orders on Saturday to march in what organizers called the largest LGBTQ+ Pride event in Hungary's history in an open rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government. Marchers gambled with potential police intervention and heavy fines to participate in the 30th annual Budapest Pride, which was outlawed by a law passed in March by Orbán's right-wing populist governing party. The march began at Budapest City hall and wound through the city center before crossing the capital's Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube River. Police diverted the crowd from its planned route to keep it separated from a small group of far-right counterprotesters, while members of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community and large numbers of supporters danced to music and waved rainbow and anti-government flags. The massive size of the march, which the government for months had insisted would no longer be permitted in Hungary, was seen as a major blow to Orbán's prestige, as the European Union's longest-serving leader's popularity slumps in the polls where a new opposition force has taken the lead. Some participants said that the march wasn't only about defending the fundamental rights of sexual minorities, but also addressed what they see as an accelerating crackdown on democratic processes under Orbán's rule. Orbán and his party have insisted that Pride, a celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and struggle for equal rights, was a violation of children's rights to moral and spiritual development — rights that a recent constitutional amendment declared took precedence over other fundamental rights, including that to peacefully assemble. The law fast-tracked through parliament in March made it an offense to hold or attend events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality to minors under age 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride was the explicit target of the law. Authorities installed additional cameras throughout the city center before the march, and were expected to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals who attend the banned event. According to the new law, being caught attending Pride could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586). The ban was the latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights by Orbán's government, which has already effectively banned both same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents. Police rejected several requests by organizers in recent weeks to register the Pride march, citing the recent law . But Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said that doesn't require police approval. But Hungary's government has remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it's sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. Hungary's justice minister this week warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend would be punishable by up to a year in prison. More than 70 members of the European Parliament, as well as other officials from countries around Europe, participated in Saturday's march. Hadja Lahbib, the EU's commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, earlier said that 'all eyes are on Budapest' as Pride marchers defy the government's ban.
The Independent
14 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Around 100,000 march in Budapest Pride in defiance of Hungary's ban
Around 100,000 people defied a government ban and police orders on Saturday to march in what organizers called the largest LGBTQ+ Pride event in Hungary's history in an open rebuke of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 's government. Marchers gambled with potential police intervention and heavy fines to participate in the 30th annual Budapest Pride, which was outlawed by a law passed in March by Orbán's right-wing populist governing party. The march began at Budapest City hall and wound through the city center before crossing the capital's Erzsébet Bridge over the Danube River. Police diverted the crowd from its planned route to keep it separated from a small group of far-right counterprotesters, while members of Hungary's LGBTQ+ community and large numbers of supporters danced to music and waved rainbow and anti-government flags. The massive size of the march, which the government for months had insisted would no longer be permitted in Hungary, was seen as a major blow to Orbán's prestige, as the European Union's longest-serving leader's popularity slumps in the polls where a new opposition force has taken the lead. Some participants said that the march wasn't only about defending the fundamental rights of sexual minorities, but also addressed what they see as an accelerating crackdown on democratic processes under Orbán's rule. Orbán and his party have insisted that Pride, a celebration of LGBTQ+ visibility and struggle for equal rights, was a violation of children's rights to moral and spiritual development — rights that a recent constitutional amendment declared took precedence over other fundamental rights, including that to peacefully assemble. The law fast-tracked through parliament in March made it an offense to hold or attend events that 'depict or promote' homosexuality to minors under age 18. Orbán earlier made clear that Budapest Pride was the explicit target of the law. Authorities installed additional cameras throughout the city center before the march, and were expected to use facial recognition tools to identify individuals who attend the banned event. According to the new law, being caught attending Pride could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints ($586). The ban was the latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights by Orbán's government, which has already effectively banned both same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage and disallowed transgender individuals from changing their sex in official documents. Police rejected several requests by organizers in recent weeks to register the Pride march, citing the recent law. But Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony joined with organizers and declared it would be held as a separate municipal event — something he said that doesn't require police approval. But Hungary's government has remained firm, insisting that holding the Pride march, even if it's sponsored by the city, would be unlawful. Hungary's justice minister this week warned Karácsony that organizing Pride or encouraging people to attend would be punishable by up to a year in prison. More than 70 members of the European Parliament, as well as other officials from countries around Europe, participated in Saturday's march. Hadja Lahbib, the EU's commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, earlier said that 'all eyes are on Budapest' as Pride marchers defy the government's ban.
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
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.'
