Record turnout for illegal Pride rally

A government ban on Hungary’s annual Pride parade had the opposite effect on Saturday, when more than 100,000 people marched through the Hungarian capital.

There were many more than ever participated in previous years.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday warned people to stay away from the banned parade, threatening clear legal consequences for anyone planning to take part.

However, warnings from the government only turned what is usually a low-key event with a few 1,000 participants into a record-breaking response.

-What is most painful for me is to see how stupid they think we all are, said Edit Rocza, 46, a special education teacher who came from South Hungary to participate in the walk for the first time.

She said she was saddened by Orban’s claim that the event was banned to protect children from “gay propaganda.”

That, she added, was just a distraction from all the theft and other real problems we have in this country.

In March, Orban’s party rushed legislation through parliament amending the right to assemble to make it illegal to hold gatherings such as Pride parades.

They did this in accordance with a previous law that prohibited material that “spreads” homosexuality. The issue is said to be overridden, to spare children from “homosexual propaganda.”

Participants in such gatherings can receive a fine of almost $600 each, while organizers face up to a year in prison.

Yes https://dimma.fo/grein/bannar-lgbt-symbolir-a-almennum-bygningum

To prevent Orban’s government from canceling this year’s Pride parade, which has been held annually since 1995, Budapest’s liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, converted it into a municipal event.

One that celebrated the return of full freedom to Hungary when Soviet troops withdrew in June. “Budapest Pride Freedom.” he calls it.

Police watched the Pride parade from the sidelines, but by late afternoon had done little to stem the flood of people marching through downtown Budapest.

Only a minor riot broke out when a Dutch evangelical Christian walked through the crowd carrying a cross.

He cursed the participants as “traitors to God”, and then a man from Sweden waved a copy of the Bible after the parade.