The Vandersloot-Quigley marriage is illegal in Hungary

Two woman got married in Seattle last December just before New Year’s Eve. Basketball players Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony.

The happy couple

Both woman are well known in Hungary. They are star players, both Hungarian citizens who have represented Hungary in several tournaments. Thousands congratulated them on their marriage; with well wishes from fans and sport officials pouring in, social media was buzzing with photos of the happy couple.

Allie Quigley playing for Hungary.

Yet, not one Hungarian sports official congratulated the Hungarian stars. Again, I want to emphasize that both woman are Hungarian citizens who have played in Hungarian clubs and represented the country in international tournaments.

Courtney Vandersloot in the Hungarian team.

Hungary’s new Constitution prohibits gay unions; it defines marriage as strictly between a man and a woman. So, in Hungary gay marriage is illegal. People around Prime Minister Orbán have openly called for “stopping the faggot lobby.” Budapest Mayor Mr. István Tarlós considers homosexuality as “unnatural and repulsive” and Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Zsolt Semjén considers it “a deviance” and “an aberration.”

To be honest, the Orbán government’s anti-gay attitude is puzzling. Hungary is in the midst of reviving the values of the pre-WWII regime and 80 years ago Horthy celebrated the openly lesbian writer Cécile Tormay, a Mussolini admirer. In 2003 Hungary was stunned to learn that Ferenc Kölcsey, the poet who wrote the words of the National Anthem, was gay and that his love poems were written to a man. It seems that Hungarian politicians and society were more accepting in the past than today.

I wonder if Vandersloot and Quigley will keep their Hungarian citizenship or ever want to play for Hungary again.

We congratulate them on this happy occasion and hope that Hungary’s Constitution will soon be amended and same sex marriage will be legal in Hungary. The gay bashing policies of the Orbán regime has no place in Europe.

György Lázár

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