A real political and cultural turning point has shaken Hungary. The Budapest Parliament has in fact approved the abolition of the anti-LGBTQIA+ rules contained in the controversial 2021 law on the protection of minors, desired by the former nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán. With a clear result of 139 votes in favor and 51 against, the legislative assembly dismantled the measure known as “propaganda law“.
This discipline strictly prohibited the public representation of homosexuality and trans identities in the sectors of education, advertising and the media, leading over the years to heavy widespread censorship of books, films and school materials to protect minors from allegedly harmful content. The cancellation of this regulatory block marks the first tangible step towards the restoration of fundamental rights to sexual and gender minorities.
The end of the Viktor Orbán era and Péter Magyar’s reform program
The radical change underway in Budapest is the direct consequence of the political elections held on 12 April 2026. After 16 years of uninterrupted power by Viktor Orbán, the electoral consultation decreed the victory of the centre-right Tisza party, led by Péter Magyar. Having taken office at the helm of the government in the spring, the former collaborator of Viktor Orbán who moved to the opposition has launched a systematic plan to dismantle the liberticidal laws approved by the previous executive.
Among the regulations that have come under fire is also the anti-Pride law, which came into force on 15 April 2025 to repress and sanction public demonstrations. Péter Magyar’s government has already canceled the ban on participation in themed parades and announced its intention to lift the 2020 blockade which prohibited adoption by single people without the political approval of the ministry.
The issues still open: gender recognition, marriage and adoptions
Although the parliamentary decision represents an epochal turning point, the path towards full equality remains complex. The government led by Péter Magyar has opened strategic discussions with non-governmental organizations to address the issue of gender identity recognition, which has been blocked since 2020 due to the rigid biological limits inserted in the population registers by Viktor Orbán’s party.
However, the constitutional definition of marriage remains unchanged, reserved exclusively for the union between a man and a woman, in addition to the “Family Protection Law” approved in 2012. Nonetheless, the signal sent by Budapest highlights a clear desire for rapprochement with European law and shared values of inclusion.
