Hungary’s Premier Won’t Withdraw Anti-LGBT law
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Hungary‘s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has vowed not to withdraw a law that bans sharing with minors content portraying homosexuality or sex reassignment.
Arriving in Brussels for a European Union summit, Orbán condemned EU critics.
The EU’s executive European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen branded the bill “a shame.” She said the law contradicted the fundamental values of the European Union and threatened to take Hungary to court.
However, Orbán denied the allegations. “This [law] is not against homosexuality and any sexual interference. It’s not about homosexuals,” he said. “It’s about the right of the kids and the parents.”
He spoke hours after Hungarian President János Áder signed the “anti-pedophile” law, raising more anger among EU leaders.
“For me, Hungary has no place in the EU anymore,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a Liberal.
His Irish counterpart Micheál Martin claimed that the law broke “a fundamental value of the European Union.” Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called it “unacceptable.”
Leaders from 17 EU countries on Thursday also signed a letter slamming “threats against fundamental rights, and in particular the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.”
The issue overshadowed European politics this week after UEFA, Europe’s football governing body, rejected a plan by Munich to light up its stadium in rainbow colors for a Germany-Hungary match on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Orbán was due to attend. But the conservative leader decided to skip the game. It ended in a 2-2 draw that saw Hungary eliminated from the European Championship.
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