Francisco Seco / Reuters
By Michael Ge
On Tuesday December 15th, Hungary amended the definition of family in the country’s constitution. The amendment would define family based a hetherosexual definition. This change will ban adoption by same-sex couples. This amendment to the country’s constitution was led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his right wing Fidesz Party which has dominated the politics of the country since 1989.
Orban has been pushing right wing policies against immigrants and LGBTQ people ever since he became Prime Minister in 1998 and again in 2010. And his policies have repeatedly been condemned by various human rights organizations. He has also been described as an leading an “illiberal state” that is much more authoritarian than its Western European counterparts.
This adoption ban is yet another assault on LGBTQ people by the Orban government in Hungary. Although the nation does not recognize the right of same-sex couples to marry, it has allowed civil unions as an alternative. Earlier in the year, Hungary banned the right for people to change their gender on their personal files.
These actions by Hungary are just a part of the larger wave of anti-LGBTQ policies sweeping Eastern Europe. Poland’s ruling PiS Party, another right wing party, has promoted LGBTQ free zones despite repeated criticism from both human rights groups and the European Union, which both Poland and Hungary are member nations. Human rights groups have condemned the amendment to the constitution. David Vig who is the director of Amnesty Hungary said that, “This is a dark day for Hungary’s LGBTQ community and a dark day for human rights.”
Discrimination against LGBTQ persons in Eastern Europe and other parts of the globe are at an all time high even while countries like Switzerland are becoming more progresssive on the issue. It remains to be seen what Orban’s next move will be.
