LGBT activists protest as Hungarian law comes into force

Activists pose for a photo after erecting a large rainbow-coloured heart in front of the country’s parliament building in Budapest, Hungary (Laszlo Balogh/AP)

Activists in Hungary erected a 10-metre-high rainbow-coloured heart opposite the country’s neo-Gothic parliament, vowing to wage a civil disobedience campaign against a new law that they say discriminates against LGBT people and that has raised questions about what values the European Union stands for.

The law, which came into effect Thursday, prohibits the display of content depicting homosexuality or sex reassignment to minors but critics say its goal is to marginalise and stigmatise the LGBT community as the country marches steadily to the right under prime minister Viktor Orban.