BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Several thousand protesters blocked major thoroughfares and three bridges in the center of Hungary’s capital on Tuesday in opposition to a recent law that effectively bans LGBTQ+ Pride events and restricts Hungarians’ right to assembly. The demonstration was the since Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party used its two-thirds parliamentary majority last Tuesday to fast-track the law, seen by critics as the government’s latest crackdown on the rights of the country’s . Chanting “democracy” and “assembly is a fundamental right,” thousands of the demonstrators poured onto one of the city’s busiest roads, igniting colorful smoke bombs and blocking traffic.
In the coming hours, they went on to blockade three of the city’s bridges spanning the Danube, facing lines of police blocking their path. One of the demonstrators, 26-year-old Paula Antalfy, said she believed the government’s recent steps to ban certain public events were “yet another step in the direction of dismantling democracy.” “I feel like love should be free, and who you love is not a decision in any way,” she said.
“That we would not be able to gather like this, as we do now, and stand in our own streets, in our own city, is something I just can’t agree with.” Hungary’s new law, which is reminiscent of in Russia, amends rules on assembly to make it an offense to hold or attend events that violate Hungary’s , which prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of .