Nazi uniforms and black fighting gear bearing Russian flags, the letter Z, SS symbols and swastikas — the dress code for hundreds of neo-Nazis marching at the Buda Castle in the heart of Budapest this February was militant. The castle, the site of annual neo-Nazi commemorations, is not far from the office of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

It's illegal to demonstrate or protest in uniform in Hungary, as well as to wear such totalitarian symbols in public. But Orban's government allows neo-Nazis and devotees of Russian President Vladimir Putin to march with impunity every year.

By contrast, the government's approach to dealing with what it calls "LGBTQ propaganda" is drastically different. In June 2023, a Budapest bookstore was fined €32,000 ($35,000) for displaying a comic about two gay boys on a shelf where minors could see it. Such displays of "LGBTQ propaganda" are forbidden in public.

Now, Orban's governing majority has cited child protection as its reason for banning Pride parades, annual events in which queer people and their allies march for tolerance and diversity. Changes to the constitution were swiftly rubber-stamped in parliament on March 18, and the legislation was signed into law just hours later by President Tamas Sulyok.

The new law means no public events can take place that feature the display of queer symbols, like rainbows, present sexuality "as an end in itself" or in which participants dress in ways "that diverge from the gender they were assigned at birth." Violations are subject to fines of up to €550 ($595), slightly less than Hungary's monthly minimum wage.

Budapest's liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, has criticized the new law and said he hoped this year's Pride parade would be........

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