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Braun, Robert
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2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Is the ban against gay marriages unconstitutional?
The constitutional court's ban against gay marriage, first issued in 1995, was ratified a few weeks ago. Historian Róbert Braun nonetheless hopes the discussion will continue until what he sees as an outdated mentality disappears. "The decision goes beyond the scope of juristic interpretation and constitutes an attempt to bring the preferred system of values in line with the constitution on the strength of historical-cultural arguments. Just imagine if in the 1918 discussion about votes for women the case had been made that voting was an institution reserved for male citizens for traditional reasons, and that therefore being a member of the male sex was a fundamental condition for participating in this institution. The standpoint of the constitutional court on homosexuality is wrong, politically dangerous and morally questionable for exactly the same reasons."
» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Minorities, » Hungary
Confronting the Past
Hungary seems to have difficulties confronting its past, notes historian Róbert Braun. He goes on to draw certain parallels between how the István Szabó case and the Holocaust have been dealt with. "Without intending to equate these two totalitarian systems, one can nonetheless safely say that both forms of dictatorship represented a serious blow to moral values. This is why it's so crucial to take on the challenge of confronting our memories, both of the Holocaust and of socialism. For me, the passiveness of many reactions to the revelations about István Szabós is more worrying than his life as such. The silence, too, is bad, because silence is the attempt to flee justice. In our recollections of the past we should be aware of fundamental moral differences: in totalitarian regimes there were culprits, victims, resistance fighters and voyeurs. The issue of who were the culprits, who the victims, who resisted and who just looked on needs to be discussed."
» full article (external link, Hungarian)
More from the press review on the subject » History, » Hungary
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