Over 100,000 people turned out for Budapest Pride in defiance of homophobic prime minister Viktor Orban.
The reminder that “Pride started as a protest” has become so overused, the phrase can appear to carry little meaning. But the incredible act of defiance that occurred this past weekend in rebuke of Hungary prime minister Viktor Orban was stirring enough to inspire even the most jaded cynic.
In the lead-up to this year’s Pride parade in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, Orban banned the festivities and threatened anybody who showed up with a $600 fine, as well as possible imprisonment for organizers. The announced crackdown was the wannabe despot’s latest broadside in his attacks against the Eastern European nation’s LGBTQ+ community.
Desperate to cling onto power, Orban has scapegoated queer people, like many right-wing authoritarians before him. Earlier this year, Orban’s party passed a constitutional amendment that forbids public LGBTQ+ events, in an attempt to counter the rising popularity of an opposition leader, the New York Times reports.
