Orban says Hungary will not let LGBTQ activists into schools Reuters

BUDAPEST (Reuters)-Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday that the European Union’s efforts to force Hungary to abandon the new law prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality in schools will be futile.

Orban said his government will not allow LGBTQ activists to enter the school.

The right-wing leader delivered a speech on the day the new law took effect. It prohibits schools from using materials deemed to promote homosexuality and gender reassignment, and states that it cannot display pornographic content to children under 18.

It also recommends establishing a list of groups that are allowed to hold sex education courses in schools.

EU Chief Executive Ursula von der Lein warned EU member Hungary on Wednesday that it must abolish the legislation or face the full effect of EU law.

But Orban said that only Hungary has the right to decide how to raise and educate children.

Critics claim that the law mistakenly conflated pedophilia with LGBT+ issues, sparking protests in Hungary. Human rights groups called on Orban’s Fidesz party to withdraw the bill. The European Commission has launched an investigation.

“The European Parliament and the European Commission want us to allow LGBTQ activists and organizations to enter kindergartens and schools. Hungary does not want that,” Orban said on his official Facebook (Nasdaq:) page.

He said that the issue is one of national sovereignty issues.

“Here, the bureaucrats in Brussels have nothing to do. No matter what they do, we will not let LGBTQ activists appear among our children.”

Orban has been in power since 2010 and may face a fierce election battle next year. He has become more and more radical in social policies, claiming to protect what he calls the traditional Christian values ​​of Western liberalism.

Opposition Jobick also supports the bill in Parliament.

On Thursday, the NGO Amnesty International and the Hatter Association flew a huge heart-shaped rainbow-colored balloon over the Hungarian Parliament building to protest the law.

“The purpose is to erase the LGBTQI crowd from the public domain,” David Vigh, director of the Hungary chapter of Amnesty International, told reporters.

He said they will not abide by the new laws and will not change their education plans.