Hungarian bookstores face fines over closed packaging for LGBTQ+ books

In a snug, wood-paneled Jewish bookstore in Hungary's capital, Eva Redai carefully climbed the rungs of a ladder to arrange titles on the shelves. Among the books were volumes bound in plastic wrapping — titles containing LGBTQ+ content that the country's right-wing government has deemed unsuitable for minors under 18.

The 76-year-old has run the Láng Téka bookstore in central Budapest for nearly 35 years, since just before Hungary's democratic transition from state socialism. But never, until now, has she needed to segregate the books she sells to avoid violating a government ban.

“I consider this such a level of discrimination. This law is an act of force that can hardly be made sense of," Redai said. "As someone who’s been in this business for such a long time, even I cannot decide which books fall under the ban.”

Hungary's government under populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has in recent years taken a hard line on LGBTQ+ issues, passing legislation that rights groups and European politicians have decried as repressive against sexual minorities.

A “child protection” law, passed in 2021, bans the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality in content available to minors, including in television, films, advertisements and literature. It also prohibits the mention of LGBTQ+ issues in school education programs, and forbids the public depiction of “gender deviating from sex at birth.”