Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban spoke out as a defender of homosexual people and denied, Thursday, June 24, that the law deemed discriminatory recently passed in Hungary violated the rights of LGBT people (lesbians, gay, bisexual, trans) , arriving in Brussels for a European Union (EU) summit.
“The law is not about homosexuals. It is about how parents want to educate their children about sex ”, he assured. “Under the communist regime, homosexuality was punished and I fought for [la] freedom and [les] rights [des personnes homosexuelles]. I defend the rights of homosexuals ”, said the Hungarian head of government, criticized by a majority of his European counterparts for this new legislation.
On the initiative of Mr. Orban’s party, the Hungarian Parliament adopted on June 15 a law aimed at banning “Making available to children under the age of 18 content which shows or encourages sexuality in itself, gender change or homosexuality”. She was labeled on Wednesday as ” shame “ by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
“Difficult questions”
Seventeen member countries, including France, Germany, Spain and Italy, have also called in a joint letter to the heads of the EU and the Secretary General of the United Nations ( UN), Antonio Guterres (guest at the EU summit), on the need to uphold European values. Without mentioning Hungary, the letter deplores “Threats against fundamental rights and in particular the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation”.
On Thursday, Mr. Orban reacted to this letter: “For all of Hungary, it is an honor that a Prime Minister or a head of the Commission is interested in a Hungarian law, we are at their disposal and I will be happy to tell them that it is not no case of a law on homosexuality. ”
“This law is about how a child learns about sex. These are difficult questions and decisions about them are the sole responsibility of the parents. The State must create the conditions so that parents can exercise these rights ”, he said again.