Editorial - Pride is political: In Budapest and in Esch

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In March of this year, the right-wing conservative Fidesz government in Hungary passed a law allowing the police to ban Pride – under the pretext of child protection. One week before Pride in Budapest, the expected police ban followed.

Just under a fortnight ago, on 28 June, a record number of participants gathered to celebrate love anyway – no, now more than ever. While in previous years around 30.000 people demonstrated for the rights of queer people, this year, according to the organisers, there were as many as 200.000. Supporters from all over Europe took part to set an example. They all defied threats of facial recognition, surveillance, arrest and fines. Among them were Luxembourg MEPs Marc Angel (LSAP) and Tilly Metz (déi gréng).

"This is another example of how Viktor Orbán's authoritarian government is targeting the queer community, minorities and marginalised groups. The LGBTIQ+ community is in no way a threat to children – unlike far-right forces and their hateful, violence-glorifying ideology, " Tilly Metz was quoted as saying in a joint press release, in which Marc Angel added: "All citizens of Hungary and Europe should know that they can rely on the European Parliament to protect their human rights – in Hungary as in any other Member State."