The parliamentary group of the Union faction has rejected a proposal by the Federal Council to enshrine the term “sexual identity” as a protected characteristic within the German Basic Law. Günter Krings, Vice-Chairman of the Union faction (CDU), stated in an interview with “Welt” that the suggested constitutional amendment is “not approvable”. He argued that discrimination based on sexual orientation is already effectively prohibited.
Krings cited Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law, rulings from the Federal Constitutional Court, the General Act on Equal Treatment and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights as justification for his position. He maintained that a robust level of protection for this group already exists in practice.
Furthermore, Krings expressed reservations regarding the term “sexual identity” describing it as “technically imprecise and semantically broader than the category of ‘sexual orientation’ used in other countries”. He warned that the ambiguity of the term could lead to “interpretational disputes” and create difficulties in preventing individuals, such as pedophiles, from potentially invoking the provision for protection, a scenario he emphasized is undesirable.
Several German states, including Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt, have already incorporated protection based on “sexual identity” into their respective state constitutions. The state of Thuringia provides protection based on “sexual orientation.
The Federal Constitutional Court has consistently referenced Article 3 of the Basic Law in its rulings regarding the equality of homosexuals since 2002. However, in 1957, the court deemed discriminatory treatment of homosexuals justifiable on the grounds of “protecting public health” and “morality”.
