Hungary Organises Anti-LGBTIQ+ Referendum

Today, 21 July 2021, Viktor Orban announced on Facebook that he will organise a referendum with anti-LGBTIQ questions. The referendum comes after a huge international outcry after the introduction of an anti-LGBTIQ propaganda law in Hungary. 

This will be the questions of the referendum: 

– Do you support children to partake in school activities about sexual orientations without parental consent?
– Do you support gender reassignment surgeries to be promoted for children?
– Do you support gender reassignment surgeries to be available for children?
– Do you support uncontrolled media content to be shown for children that could influence their sexual development?
– Do you support gender changes to be shown in the media? 

Rémy Bonny, executive director of Forbidden Colours: “Today, in this European Union, we have a head of government who is putting the rights of an entire minority up to a vote. Orban is trying to silence the LGBTIQ-community because the equality movement forms the biggest threat to his authoritarian rule.”

“The questions of this referendum are not only putting the LGBTIQ-community back in the closet, it also endangers to the basic rights of children. Too much children struggle with their sexual and gender identity, and not providing scientific information that can help them, is a threat to the lives of these children. Too much LGBTIQ-teenagers have committed suicide because of the bigotry of Mr. Orban.”

Bonny calls the European Commission to take interim measures. “Organising a referendum to take away fundamental rights of a minority reminds us of a Europe in the 1930s. The Hungarian government will spend billions to attack the LGBTIQ-community in the coming months. It is detrimental that the LGBTIQ-community is able to campaign properly.”

For the referendum to be recognised, 50% of the voting population needs to vote. “Boycotting or submitting invalid votes at the referendum seems to be the logic option in this. The question are unfair and not independent. We must ask Hungarians not to vote. This is their future in Europe on the line.”