Thousands join Budapest Pride as anxiety in LGBTQ community grows
- On Friday, the US was among 38 embassies to issue a joint statement urging EU-member Hungary to do more to respect and protect the LGBTQ community
- Budapest officials recently imposed a record fine on a bookshop over its display of the graphic novel series Heartstopper, about two teenage boys who fall in love
On Friday, the US was among 38 embassies to issue a joint statement urging EU-member Hungary to do more to respect and protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community.
Every EU country except Poland sent the letter.
It came soon after officials in the Hungarian capital imposed a record fine on a bookshop over its display of the graphic novel series Heartstopper by the British author Alice Oseman.
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The national bookseller Lira was fined 12 million forints (US$35,000) because it had offered the Hungarian version of Heartstopper for sale without the prescribed protective film.
Under the Child Protection Act, which came into force in 2021, it is illegal for shops to sell books that address homosexuality, transsexuality, gender reassignment or “sexuality for its own sake” in their youth literature sections. They must also be wrapped in a closed packaging.
The European Commission took Hungary to the European Court of Justice at the end of last year over the law, saying it restricts young people’s right to information.
