The President of the Bundestag and the Mayor of Berlin opened the Berlin Pride
(Photo: IMAGO/Emmanuele Contini)
Berlin At the opening of the Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) promised an extension of Article 3 in the Basic Law. “My firm commitment to this Berlin Senate is: We want to change Article 3 of the Basic Law. The sexual identity has to be included. That’s my promise,” Wegner said on Saturday. “We will also manage this together with you.”
According to the article in the Basic Law, no one may be disadvantaged or preferred because of their gender, descent, race, language, homeland and origin, belief, religious or political views. There has long been a call from the queer community to add to the article.
Non-heterosexual people or people who do not identify with the traditional role model of men and women or other social norms relating to gender and sexuality describe themselves as queer.
In his opening speech, Wegner also warned of the increasing discrimination against queer people. “Berlin will always be a safe haven for people who are being attacked in other countries. We protect queer people who are threatened in many countries,” said the CDU politician. “We have a development in the world, in Ghana, in Uganda, in Poland, it’s unbearable.”
Wegner is the first Berlin Governing Mayor of the CDU to open a CSD – together with Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD). There was not only approval for this: Loud boos could be heard several times, sometimes also “Wegner must go” demands.
Bas: We have to fight against discrimination
At the start of the CSD, Bas (SPD) called for people to stand up together against discrimination. “We have to send a clear signal for a free, diverse, diverse society. We’ve achieved a lot, but we still have a lot to do,” said Bas. Discrimination is also increasing in Germany, she said. “And we all have to defend ourselves against this and stand up against it together and show our attitude.”
The President of the Bundestag said about the Berlin CSD: “It is a reason to celebrate that we are here, that we are diverse. But it is also a demonstration for queer rights, for all people, that they can live in this country as they want.” That cannot be taken for granted. “We see that in other countries where people are imprisoned, tortured, even killed.”
Christopher Street Day is celebrated worldwide. The movement dates back to events in June 1969, when New York police officers stormed a bar on Christopher Street, sparking a riot by gay, lesbian and trans people.
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