• Hungary's parliament has passed a constitutional amendment to ban public LGBTQ+ events.
• The amendment is viewed by critics as a step toward authoritarianism under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
• Protesters attempted to block the vote, but police removed them before the amendment passed.
• Facial recognition technology can now be used to identify attendees at banned events.
• Orban's government claims the measures protect children's rights but faces widespread criticism.

Hungary’s parliament approved a constitutional amendment on Monday that allows the government to ban public events organized by LGBTQ+ communities, which has been deemed by many legal scholars and critics as another move toward authoritarianism by the ruling government. The amendment, proposed by the ruling Fidesz-KDNP coalition led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, required a two-thirds majority to pass and succeeded with 140 votes in favor and 21 against. The opposition protested the decision with an attempt to blockade the entrance to a parliament parking garage before the vote, although police intervened to remove the demonstrators, who had linked themselves with zip ties, according to Los Angeles Times.

The newly enacted amendment asserts that children’s rights to moral, physical, and spiritual development take precedence over various rights, including the right to peacefully assemble. This aligns with Hungary’s controversial “child protection” legislation, which prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors under 18 years old. Additionally, this amendment solidifies a previous law that bans public events held by LGBTQ+ communities, notably including the highly attended Budapest Pride, as well as authorizing the use of facial recognition technology to identify individuals participating in such events, which could result in fines of up to 200,000 Hungarian forints (approximately $546), according to NPR.

Opposition figures, including Dávid Bedő from the Momentum party, have accused Orbán’s government of rapidly dismantling democracy and the rule of law over recent years, claiming that as the 2026 elections approach — with Orbán's party currently trailing behind a new challenger in the polls — they will resort to any means necessary to maintain power. "They will do everything in their power to stay in power," Bedő asserted before the vote, which was momentarily disrupted by opposition lawmakers using air horns, according to South China Morning Post.

The government has framed its anti-LGBTQ+ stance as a necessary safeguard for children against what it categorizes as “woke ideology” and “gender madness,” despite critics arguing that these measures serve more as a distraction from pressing issues facing the country, such as economic instability or corruption. Attorney Dánel Döbrentey, from the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, characterized the government's rhetoric as "pure propaganda" that has "nothing to do with children's rights," according to Los Angeles Times.

Furthermore, the new amendment explicitly recognizes only two genders — male and female — which reinforces previous laws that have already prohibited same-sex adoption. This change denies recognition to the identities of transgender and intersex individuals, thereby legally erasing their existence from Hungary's constitutional framework. Government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács defended the amendment as "not an attack on individual self-expression, but a clarification that legal norms are based on biological reality," as reported by NPR.

Ádám Remport, another attorney with the HCLU, remarked on the potential ramifications of using facial recognition technology for monitoring events, warning that it could broaden state surveillance to deter political dissent. He emphasized that the amendment poses a chilling effect on citizens' willingness to express their political or ideological beliefs out of fear of persecution, highlighting the extensive ramifications on civil liberties within Hungary, according to Los Angeles Times.

The recently passed amendment also introduces provisions allowing for the suspension of citizenship for Hungarians holding dual citizenship in countries outside the European Economic Area if they are deemed a threat to national security. This reflects Hungary’s ongoing efforts to assert its sovereignty against perceived foreign influences that the government claims aim to undermine Orbán's administration, according to NPR.