BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Some bookstores in Hungary placed notices at their entrances this week telling customers that they sell "non-traditional content.” The signs went up in response to a new law that prohibits “depicting or promoting” homosexuality and gender transitions in material accessible to children.While some writers, publishers and booksellers say the law curtails free thought and expression in Hungary, the country's second-largest bookstore chain, Lira Konyv, posted the advisory notices to be safe.
The new prohibition took effect last week, but the government has not issued official guidance on how or to whom it will be applied and enforced.“The word ‘depicts’ is so general that it could include anything.