Germany may include protection for sexual orientation in the constitution

The measure, supported by the governing coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Liberal Democrats (FDP), seeks to add a ban on discrimination based on sexual identity to the constitution, complementing Article 3, which already protects against discrimination based on sex, race, origin and belief. A huge victory for queer people.

The proposal gained momentum after the Berlin Pride Parade in July 2024, where German pop singer Herbert Grönemeyer publicly advocated for the constitutional amendment. During the event, which brought together hundreds of thousands of people, the inclusion of sexual identity in the constitutional text was one of the main demands of the protesters.

However, for the amendment to be approved, it needs the support of two-thirds of parliamentarians in both the Bundestag (lower house) and the Bundesrat (upper house). The governing coalition does not have this majority and needs the support of the conservative parties, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU).

These parties, however, have been reluctant to support the change. Thorsten Frei, managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said he saw no need to change the constitution, as protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation was already implicit in Article 3.

Despite the resistance, there are signs of openness among some conservatives. Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) had already expressed support for including sexual identity in Article 3 during the 2023 Pride Parade and led an initiative to this effect in the Bundesrat. However, the proposal has not made any significant progress since then.

By Ezatamentchy