Hungary Tightens Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws With Constitutional Amendment

Hungary bans LGBTQ+ public events marks a dangerous shift in Europe’s stance on queer rights. How could it affect Canada?

In a world where the country that calls itself the freest allows oppression to thrive with pride, the trickle-down effect of bigotry spreads to nations that follow its lead. Across the United States, anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has become part of the mainstream, especially under the Trump presidency, where gay and queer rights have been folded into an “anti-woke” movement that treats hate speech as status quo.

So it’s no shock that countries like Greece, banned surrogacy for gay men just a year after legalizing same-sex marriage, and now Hungary—ranked the 56th most free country in the world—are emboldened to pass laws that would be outright unconstitutional in Canada. Hungary’s latest move to ban LGBTQ+ public gatherings is not just a policy shift; it’s a threat. There’s only one word for this: dangerous. 

When the world changes around us, the only thing we can do is pay attention—and make sure what’s happening elsewhere doesn’t become normalized. 2025 is shaping up to be a terrifying dystopian nightmare, where progress for our community is under fire across the globe. Our livelihood and existence are beginning to parallel the past. Many thought these times were long behind us.

A history of systemic oppression: Hungary’s LGBTQ+ laws 

When most countries don’t have a favorable history for queer individuals, Hungary actually had some hope at one point. Homosexuality was decriminalized in the 1960s, much earlier than many Western countries. But real change didn’t start happening until 2004, when laws were put in place to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation in public and in the workplace—largely because Hungary had joined the European Union.

In 2009, Hungary took another step by allowing registered partnerships for same-sex couples, which gave many of the same rights as marriage—but left out adoption, surrogacy, and reproductive services.

Then in 2012, things began to head in the opposite direction. The constitution was amended to define marriage as strictly between one man and one woman, shutting out any hope for same-sex marriage rights. This was followed by a 2013 media law banning LGBTQ+ content in the name of “protecting children” from exposure to the queer community.

In 2020, Hungary passed a law erasing trans identity—making it impossible for trans people to change their legal gender, forcing them to stay documented as the gender they were assigned at birth.

It didn’t stop there. The 2021 “anti-pedophilia” law was riddled with anti-LGBTQ+ language, pushing a narrative of perversion and making sure same-sex couples couldn’t adopt children without special approval from the family affairs minister. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his administration have been consistently against LGBTQ+ rights for the past two decades, and this latest law is just another step in their agenda.

Viktor Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies in Hungary

Viktor Orbán first served as Hungary’s Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, then returned to power in 2010—and has held office ever since. That means he’s not only helped shape Hungary’s modern-day constitution but continues to lead its government with a deeply conservative, nationalist vision. Over the past two decades, Orbán has pushed anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation that have drastically rolled back queer rights in the country.

Like Donald Trump, Orbán leans heavily on “family values” and so-called traditional Christian beliefs as a way to target what the West often labels as “woke culture.” His justification? Hungary’s “right” to define its own moral and cultural code—often in open defiance of the European Union’s expectations around human rights.

This strategy isn’t just political—it’s cultural warfare. And unfortunately, it works. Orbán has become a blueprint for other populist and authoritarian leaders, especially in countries like Poland and Serbia. His tactics are echoed across borders, spreading hate under the guise of national pride and tradition.

What’s happening in the U.S. today isn’t isolated. The rise in anti-LGBTQ+ policies and rhetoric south of Canada’s border doesn’t just affect American citizens—it sends a global signal. It empowers leaders like Orbán who were already ahead of the curve, and now feel validated, even inspired, by what they see in the States. Hate spreads like a disease, and when it gains legitimacy in powerful countries, it becomes a movement that’s harder to stop.

How Hungary’s new law harms the LGBTQ+ community

Public events being banned doesn’t just mean the end of a Pride parade — it’s a silencing act that pushes marginalized people back into the closet, not to be seen. It creates a dangerous atmosphere by disallowing a group of people from even being able to congregate without it possibly crossing the line of acceptability. You can’t gather, celebrate, and obviously, you cannot protest. You can’t even contest the freedom for change without it being law-breaking in its own act. Being queer used to mean solidarity — we now have safety in numbers, within ourselves and our allies — but Hungary’s amendment creates segregation, not against the status quo, but from one another. It’s an erasure of culture.

When discrimination is written into law by any governing entity, it’s a message that you are not welcome if you fall into the vertical that’s being violated. These kinds of amendments bring on deep psychological effects, with the intent to isolate people and to change the trajectory of youth — to live in fear and navigate their identity in a way that is not just inauthentic, but restrictive to who they are, effectively altering the course of their life to be less pleasant and more caged.

With hate being generally accepted as normal, it invites hostility and violence. And when being queer is treated as illegal, you’re effectively being told that you are not allowed to exist — unless you conform. This is harmful to the LGBTQ+ community both in Hungary, and globally, as it sets a dangerous precedent that puts lives in jeopardy.  

How Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws could affect Canada

What’s happening in Hungary doesn’t stop at its borders—hate never does. When anti-LGBTQ+ laws are passed and normalized, it signals to the world that discrimination is not only acceptable, but governable. That kind of messaging travels fast. From Hungary to the U.S., and right into Canada’s backyard, it emboldens far-right groups already looking for a reason to push back against queer progress. We’re not immune to influence—especially when American politics so often shape our own cultural conversations. If oppression becomes a winning strategy elsewhere, it won’t be long before similar ideas seep into Canadian policy, all under the same tired banner of “protecting children” and preserving “traditional values.”

And while it may feel like our rights are secure, freedom isn’t permanent—it’s something we constantly have to fight for. Every time a queer identity is erased from public life somewhere else in the world, it quietly chips away at the safety and visibility we’ve built here. Queer youth are watching these headlines, and they’re internalizing what it means when existing authentically is met with punishment. The more silent we are in the face of global discrimination, the more complicit we become in its spread. This isn’t just Hungary’s issue—it’s ours too. Because once one country gets away with legislated hate, others will follow. And if we wait until it happens here, it’ll be too late.