Welcome to Pride season!

It wasn't so long ago that organizers of Pride demonstrations and festivals were regularly confronted from all sides with the question of whether these events were even necessary anymore. After all, everything had more or less been achieved and was fine.

These questions have largely fallen silent now because it's obvious to everyone how much times have changed. Sure, we've achieved a lot in the past few decades, but the backlash is now all the more intense. This is particularly evident in the US at the moment: Following Trump's order to remove anything that smacks of diversity, equality, or inclusion, even photos of the American plane that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of World War II were banned from government archives – simply because it bears the name "Enola Gay" (named after the pilot's mother).

Scandalous Pride ban in EU country Hungary

A similarly anti-queer mentality also inspires most European far-right parties, which are currently gaining increasing electoral support and, accordingly, are gaining more and more political influence. In mid-March, the EU country Hungary even banned all Pride parades, ostensibly to protect children and young people. Violators face heavy fines, and facial recognition software is expected to help identify participants. The director of Amnesty Hungary described the ban as a "frontal attack on the LGBTQIA+ community and a blatant violation of Hungary's obligations to prohibit discrimination and guarantee freedom of expression and assembly."

Hungary's decision is met with understanding by some representatives of the SVP. For example, young Aargau politician Vivienne Huber told nau.ch that while she opposes a Pride ban, she stated: "To protect our children from early sexualization, participation should only be permitted from the age of 16."

Queeramnesty marches in Zurich and Bern

Pride parades are clearly relevant and important again, and numerous ones are taking place this year in Switzerland alone. Queer Amnesty will, as usual, march alongside queer refugees at the two largest parades in Zurich (June 21) and Bern (August 2). We hope to see many of you there, too. Because if we want to retain our hard-won rights, we must be at least as active and vocal as our opponents.