Hungary plans referendum on law criticized by EU as homophobic

CNN — Hungary’s right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has proposed a referendum on the country’s controversial new LGBTQ law. Hungarian laws do not permit sexual propaganda in kindergartens, schools, on television and in In his announcement, he referred to a referendum five year ago in which Hungary rejected the EU’s refugee resettlement plan but failed to reach a voter turnout threshold, making the referendum not legally binding. GERGELY BESENYEI/AFP/Getty Images Members of the European Parliament and other European leaders have criticized the new policy, with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte saying that Hungary has “no place in the EU.” CNN learned that during the last closed-door meeting of EU leaders, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, starkly warned Orban: “My grandfather was Jewish, I’m gay and can live freely. Hungarian laws do not permit sexual propaganda in kindergartens, schools, on television and in Orban has maintained that the law – approved in parliament last month – is not about violating LGBTQ rights as critics argue, but about preserving parents’ rights to choose how to educate their children.