It’s been over 60 years since the first US state decriminalized homosexuality, but it took until Lawrence v. Texas, in 2003, for all remaining laws against same-sex sexual activity to be invalidated. Just one year later in 2004 Massachusetts began to offer same-sex marriage, and in 2015 after Obergefell v. Hodges, all states were required to offer it. Other countries around the globe, sadly are trying to catch up 

All the equal rights the LGBTQA+ community have gained over the decades have not come without a struggle and some sacrifice but we know for certain it has made us queer folks tougher and united and we will never allow anyone to push us back into the closet.  Even if you are an extreme right-wing would-be despotic dictator with total disregard for both the Constitution and the law of the land.

So  we cheered loudly with joy yesterday, watching the tens of thousands of people (estimated to be 180,000 to 200,000) who took to the streets of Budapest in defiance of the Hungarian government’s ban on Pride, heeding a call by the city’s mayor to “come calmly and boldly to stand together for freedom, dignity and equal rights”. Jubilant crowds packed into the city’s streets on Saturday, waving Pride flags and signs that mocked the country’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, as their peaceful procession inched forward at a snail’s pace.

The mass demonstration against the government was a bittersweet marking of Budapest Pride’s 30th anniversary; while the turnout on Saturday was expected to reach record levels, it had come after the government had doubled down on its targeting of the country’s LGBTQ+ community.

Orbán had just  fast-tracked a law that made it an offence to hold or attend events that involve the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors, so many Hungarians vowed to show their disapproval by attending Pride for the first time.

Tens of thousands of Hungarians, including senior citizens and parents with their children, plus politicians and campaigners from 30 countries, took to the streets on Saturday, despite Orbán’s warning on Friday that those who attend or organise the march will face “legal consequences”. In a video posted to social media this week, the country’s justice minister, Bence Tuzson, warned the Budapest mayor that organising a banned event or encouraging people to attend is punishable by up to a year in prison

PS This was a wake up call for the World  and especailly The Orange Man In The White House . Do not attempt to underestimate the strength and determation of the entire LGBTQ+ community.  We will do whatever it takes top safeguard the rights of all our brothers and sisters