When a passerby saw a man with bloody hands descending a drainpipe and reported it to the police, he probably never thought it would help to spread one of the most controversial news items in years. He may have thought a big crime had taken place on the second floor of an apartment in Brussels, Belgium, but the man, who was in a hurry, was neither a thief nor a murderer.
He was József Szájer, a top member of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party in Hungary. Szájer was one of the lawmakers who wrote the current Hungarian constitution in 2011, based on the traditional family and banning adoption for same-sex couples.
On the last Friday of November 2020, neighbors of David Manzheley complained to police about the noise coming from his apartment. Just as Belgium had imposed severe restrictions on human interactions, Manzheley, with two nurses who took Covid-19 tests, held a small party to create what he said was a café-like atmosphere. He believes the only difference was that in the meantime they also had sex with each other.
Police stormed into the apartment and one of the guests was so drunk that he wanted to unzip a police officer’s pants. There were no women at the party; Manzheley frequently holds such parties and says that many politicians come and go there. He says he did not know Szájer, but guests often bring their friends with them. Szájer went there anonymously. He fled through the window when the police arrived, in fear of being found out.
When the police arrested him, Szájer said he did not have an ID card with him and introduced himself as a member of the European Parliament. The police took Szájer to his house, where he identified himself by his diplomatic passport. Some criticized Szájer’s behavior, accusing him of seeking to abuse his position in parliament. The European Parliament later stated that the immunity rule only extended to an MEP’s official duties, not to their private life.
Another issue was drugs. Police found drugs in his backpack. Szájer expressed ignorance about where they came from and, in a short note posted on his website, stated that he did not use drugs and offered to take a test but said the police did not carry one out.
Above all, he was at a gay sex party, and this is mainly notable because Szájer played a key role in passing laws to restrict the LGBTQ community. According to these laws, same-sex couples cannot marry and, in addition, cannot adopt children. Instead of using his position to improve the rights of same-sex couples, he enacted laws that negatively affected the lives of thousands.
The Guardian reported on December 2 that one person who knew Szajer said his sexuality was an “open secret” among Fidesz circles. Although Szájer is married to Tunde Hando, a justice on Hungary’s Constitutional Court, it seems that he is also sexually oriented towards men. This goes beyond private life and makes us wonder what makes people like Szájer take steps to reverse the rights of sexual minorities. Why does a man who is himself gay or bisexual ignore the rights of LGBTQ community?
Some may say that József Szájer is also a human being and can have his own ideas that are not in line with the wishes of others, in this case the rights of the LGBTQ community. Some even believe that we should not consider this group as a community and instead think of them as individuals. The important point is that in any case, a seemingly gay or bisexual man did not consider the necessity of the rights of others’ sexual orientations. A gay couple may not want to get married and may never adopt a child, but that does not matter. If someone in Szájer’s position had made different rules, couples could choose their own lifestyles freely.
Psychologists believe that for some reason some homosexuals oppose homosexuality. One of the most important causes is the norms of their society. These people are afraid to reveal their true selves. They may feel that society will humiliate them or reject them. That is why they try to keep this desire secret or change themselves and others. Scientific studies have proven that they will never succeed; it is impossible to change your sexual orientation.
The second reason goes back to religious beliefs. Homosexuality is condemned in many religions. Christianity has undergone many changes in recent years, and even Pope Francis has recently supported same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, strands of Judaism and Islam continue to follow the same path, and influential religious authorities have not reinterpreted current issues. Homosexuals who grow up with religious beliefs often can not easily cope with their homosexuality. Fear of sin prevents them from expressing their sexual orientation and can lead them to oppose their own sexual orientation and that of others.
Perhaps the strangest and, of course, most interesting group is people who are homophobic and do not know they are homosexual. These people, in various ways, harass other homosexuals to fight against their own inner desires unconsciously. The American Psychological Association has published an article entitled Is Homophobia Associated with Homosexual Arousal?, which states that some homophobic men were aroused by watching two men having sex.
József Szájer finished his blog post with the following statement: “I apologize to my family, to my colleagues, to my voters. I ask them to evaluate my misstep on the background of thirty years of devoted and hard work. The misstep is strictly personal, I am the only who owes responsibility for it. I ask everyone not to extend it to my homeland, or to my political community.”
Szajer resigned from Victor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party and quit as a Member of European Parliament but he is still in a position to make a big decision. It is true that in his short blog post he made no mention of his sexuality and the gay sex party, but perhaps we should hope that from now on he will take serious steps to defend the rights of LGBTQ community.
Image credit: EPP Group