Following the attack on the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade in Berlin, the SPD leadership wants to make a fresh attempt to enshrine a ban on discrimination based on sexual identity in Germany's Basic Law. Party chairs Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas, together with Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf, called on Tuesday for a corresponding addition to Article 3 of the constitution. The SPD would "put this back on the political agenda with determination," they said. Coalition partner the Union, however, rejected the move as symbolic politics.
The question of including sexual identity in Article 3 of the Basic Law has been debated for years. The article already contains a number of explicit anti-discrimination provisions, covering, among others, sex, ethnicity, language, origin and religion.
At the end of September last year, the Bundesrat also called for the inclusion of sexual identity as a protected characteristic and submitted a corresponding bill to the Bundestag. The federal government "took note" of the states' initiative but pointed out that it was up to the Bundestag to decide whether to adopt the proposal. A two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament would be required to amend the Basic Law.
Deputy leader of the Union parliamentary group, Günter Krings (CDU), accused the SPD of setting "the wrong priorities" after the CSD attack. "A change to Article 3 would not prevent a single attack and would not stop a single perpetrator of violence," he told the Rheinische Post (Wednesday edition).
"Anyone who genuinely wants to protect gay and lesbian people should not invest their political energy in symbolic constitutional debates, but should instead support the necessary legislative changes that strengthen our security authorities and effectively stop potential perpetrators."
Krings stressed that the Basic Law already protects all people effectively against discrimination. "The Federal Constitutional Court has also made clear that people are protected regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity through the general right of personality and the principle of equality."
The Greens urged the Union to support the change. "It is time to act," said parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann, speaking to the Rheinische Post. A majority would be possible "if the Union gives up its years-long resistance. Queer people have already been waiting far too long."
The federal government's Queer Commissioner, Sophie Koch (SPD), also reaffirmed the call for the addition to Article 3. While it would not prevent specific crimes, she told the Rheinische Post, "it would offer protection if, at some point, forces perhaps come to power again that want to restrict the fundamental rights of queer people."
Koch also criticized plans to cut federal funding for Lambda, Germany's only nationwide queer youth association. "This is a fatal signal," she said. "We need to better support such structures." Klingbeil, Bas and Klüssendorf likewise demanded "that funding programs for queer people not be weakened through cuts." Counselling and support centers in particular perform "indispensable work and provide protection," they said.
The AfD rejected the constitutional amendment. Deputy federal spokesman Sven Tritschler called the SPD's initiative an "absurd demand": "Instead of tackling the real problems and drawing tough consequences, they're throwing up smokescreens and hoping to placate voters with them." He added that Article 1 of the Basic Law already "covers the dignity of all people, regardless of the sexual identity they ascribe to themselves."
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