Germany mulls constitutional protections for LGBT+ people

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig is calling for an amendment to the country's constitution, the Basic Law, in response to the Islamist attack on Berlin Pride, reported dpa.

"I am in favour of amending Article 3(3) of the Basic Law to include a ban on discrimination on the grounds of sexual identity," the politician told the Rheinische Post newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

The constitution already prohibits the disadvantage or preferential treatment of people on grounds such as their ancestry, language, homeland or origin, their faith, religion or political views. "It is only logical to also prohibit unequal treatment on the grounds of sexual identity," said Hubig.

Further discussions within the government coalition are still needed on this matter. Hubig, from the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), emphasized that while there were reservations within Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives, there were also encouraging signs.

During the Pride event on July 25 in Berlin's Tiergarten, the 21-year-old attacker drove a van into several pedestrians before injuring other people with a machete.

One woman died and at least 31 people were injured, seven of them seriously. The Islamist was cornered and shot dead by police the day after the attack.

Hubig is also in talks with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt about tightening up certain areas of the law, such as the exchange of information between security agencies and the judiciary. "We must ensure that the criminal justice system can draw on this information where necessary," said Hubig.