• Hungarian police have banned the Budapest Pride march scheduled for June 28, citing child protection laws.
• Mayor Gergely Karacsony pledges to hold the event, asserting it falls under municipal jurisdiction.
• The government's restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights have been criticized both domestically and by the EU.
• Recent legislative changes strengthen the police's authority to ban such gatherings.
• Protests against the ban have already occurred, with thousands participating in demonstrations.

Hungarian police announced on June 19 that the annual Budapest Pride march planned for June 28 has been banned, citing laws designed to protect children. This ban directly contradicts statements from Budapest's liberal Mayor Gergely Karacsony, who affirmed the event's status as a municipal event that does not require police permits for organization. "Budapest city hall will organise the Budapest Pride march on June 28 as a city event, Period," Karacsony stated defiantly on Facebook, challenging the police's authority in this matter, according to Reuters and Le Monde.

The controversy has its roots in recent legislation that allows police to prohibit any gatherings that may conflict with laws framed under the guise of child protection. This includes a law passed in March that gives police the capacity to use facial recognition technology to identify attendees at such events. The Hungarian parliament, dominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz Party, has a long track record of passing laws that restrict LGBTQ+ expressions, diminishing rights in the name of "child protection," as seen in these recent events, according to BBC and Le Monde.

While the police maintain that the march cannot proceed due to concerns about underage attendees witnessing the event, Mayor Karacsony continues to assert that this should not prevent its organization. He emphasized that his team would be hosting this as a "Day of Freedom," which he argues is beyond the legislative constraints imposed by party officials. "They might as well try to ban a procession of unicorns," Karacsony added humorously, reinforcing his intent to challenge the police ban, as reported by Reuters and BBC.

The prime minister's government has faced growing domestic and international scrutiny for its face-off against Hungary's LGBTQ+ community. Protests have emerged in response to the ban, with thousands of demonstrators blocking bridges in Budapest to voice their opposition against the newly enacted laws. Moreover, EU lawmakers have expressed intentions to attend the gathering, underlining the widening chasm between Hungarian governmental norms and broader European expectations regarding human rights and freedoms, according to BBC and Le Monde.