Gay Guide Hungary

Since September 2002 there are no more laws prohibiting gay sex in Hungary, and the age of consent for all is 14 years. Same sex marriages are not possible, but after a repeated attempt the registered civil partnership for homosexuals has been in force in Hungary since July 1, 2009, but without adoption rights. Since 2010, the right-wing conservative Fidesz Party rules with a two-thirds majority in parliament and used this to implement far-reaching constitutional amendments. These include the explicit exclusion of gay marriage in the new constitution, which defines marriage exclusively as a relationship between a man and a woman. In recent years an interesting and lively gay scene has developed in Hungary. However, homosexual life still takes place in secret because of the increase in nationalist, anti-homosexual violence. Therefore, there are no gay couples who show their affection in public. After violent clashes in Budapest in 2008 during the Pride Parade, there was no violence in 2009 due to strong security precautions. Unfortunately, on the day after the 2011 Pride Parade, which was itself protected by police, there were violent attacks by neo-Nazis on homosexuals. The police took the side of the neofascist attackers who claimed to have been attacked by gays and lesbians. One positive news is that Pride and Eurogames 2012 in Budapest were held without any major problems, even though the police initially had banned Pride due to security concerns. In surveys to measure the support of gay marriage among the population, the result of 2015 compared to 2006 shows an increase in supporters from 18% to 39%. In an ILGA survey in 2017, 64% of respondents stated that homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals.