The Hungarian government studies prohibiting pride march by changing the Constitution

The Hungarian government proposed legal changes to prevent the annual pride march from being carried out in the «same public form» that a senior official said on Thursday.

The government never supported it, said Gergely Gulyas, chief of cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, to journalists.

But «the margin of maneuver was not wide enough» to impose a prohibition until the return of the US president, Donald Trump, to the White House.

«We believe that the march of pride in the city center, now that the US ambassador can no longer lead it, should not be tolerated by the country,» he added.

The former United States in Hungary, David Pressman, a constant critic of the Orban government, regularly participated in the pride march along with other foreign diplomats.

Pressman left his post last month before the Trump administration assumed the position.

On Saturday Orban suggested the possibility of prohibiting the event in his annual speech on the state of the nation.

The Government must present a constitutional amendment prioritizing the need for child protection and, on that basis the current format of the Pride march could be prohibited, he added.

Hungary restricted LGTBQ rights in recent years to «protect children,» but the march still attracts thousands of people.

The organizers claim to continue with the preparations for the 30th edition of Budapest’s pride planned on June 28.

In a statement on Saturday they condemned the politicization of the matter at a time when people face basic problems such as the cost of living.

«The task of the government should not be even more the basic freedoms of the Hungarian people, but to find real solutions,» the statement added.

AFP