Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar has issued one of his clearest statements yet on personal freedom and relationships, declaring that people should be free to love whomever they choose. His comments come just a day after he announced plans to reverse an Orbán-era restriction on adoption by same-sex couples.

In a social media post on Sunday, Magyar wrote that “Love, including romantic love, is a fundamental right.”, adding that in a humane Hungary, everyone should be free to love whomever and however they wish, provided they do not harm others or break the law.

“In a humane Hungary, everyone should be free to love whomever they choose, and however they choose, as long as they do not harm others or break the law,” Magyar wrote.

He ended the short message with a reference to 1 Corinthians 13:13, the biblical passage about faith, hope and love, which describes love as the greatest of the three. The statement is brief, but it comes at a politically significant moment.

Magyar signals change on LGBTQ rights?

Just one day earlier, Magyar said his government would move to scrap an Orbán-era restriction that effectively prevented same-sex couples from adopting.

Under legislation introduced during Viktor Orbán’s government in 2020, unmarried people could adopt only with special ministerial approval. Because same-sex marriage is not recognised in Hungary, the rule effectively made adoption considerably more difficult for gay and lesbian couples.

Magyar said decisions on adoption should instead be made by professionals rather than politicians. Reuters described the announcement as a significant shift from the policies of the previous government, which had introduced a series of restrictions affecting LGBTQ people.

Registered partnerships for same-sex couples remain legal in Hungary, while same-sex marriage is still not recognised. Magyar’s Sunday statement therefore did not announce another specific legislative change, but it reinforced the broader direction signalled by the government’s adoption plans.

More on this topic: Péter Magyar’s remarks point to a radical U-turn on same-sex couples’ right to adopt

Not the first time Péter Magyar has used this message

The prime minister has made similar remarks before. At his international press conference on 13 April, one day after his election victory, Magyar said that people in Hungary were free to assemble and to live with and love whomever they chose, as long as they did not harm others or violate the law.

The same theme also appeared repeatedly during the election campaign, particularly during debates surrounding Budapest Pride and restrictions introduced under the previous government.

Sunday’s post puts the message in unusually direct terms: love itself, Magyar argued, should be treated as a fundamental right.

Check out some more articles concerning the adoption of same-sex couples in our LGTBQ in Hungary archive.

Featured image: Péter Magyar / Facebook