Frankfurter CSD: Protest against controversial law for trans-rights!

Frankfurter CSD: Protest against controversial law for trans-rights!

The persistently tense conditions for the LGBTQIA+community are the focus of this year's Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Frankfurt, which will be celebrated on the banks of the Main between the iron bridge and Untermainbrücke until July 20. Heik Zimmermann, an influential representative of the Trans* and Diversity Frankfurt competence center, draws attention to the increasing violence and the growing hatred of queer people. His appeal to defend the freedom and rights of the community comes at a time when a controversial draft regulation of the Federal Ministry of the Interior ensures great concern. This provides for saving earlier gender entries and first names stored and forwarding to various authorities, which particularly affects the trans*community. According to [Hessenschau] (https://www.hessenschau.de/panorama/frankfurter-csd-protest- against-controversial draft v1,csd-frankfurt-trans-trans-transplate-sbgg-100.html) this draft is a direct attack on the rights of trans -Aally personnel.

The draft for the implementation of the Self -Determination Act (SBGG), which is due to enter into force in November 2024, could become one of the greatest returns for queer rights in Germany. Luana Pesarini, sociologist and critic, compares the project with the notorious "pink lists" from the Nazi era, which were used to persecute queer people. The compulsion to store previous data is a worrying sign that the freedom that has been fought for the community for years could come under pressure. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, on the other hand, justifies this step with the need for traceability, which has a decisive time to reject Zimmermann. He emphasizes that it is already identifiable without storing previous information.

A look back at the history of the LGBTQIA+rights

The struggle for equality and visibility of the LGBTQIA+community has a long and complex history in Germany. Discrimination and persecution due to gender identity and sexual orientation withdraw to the beginning of the Empire. [Deutschlandfunk Kultur] (https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/queer-cs-- csd- equal authorization-deutschland-ichte-100.html) emphasizes that Karl Heinrich Ulrichs advocated the impunity of same-sex acts in 1867, while Magnus Hirschfeld founded the first homosexual organization in 1897. However, his work ended abruptly with the rise of the National Socialists, who systematically pursued gays and lesbians and also interneted several thousand in concentration camps.

At the end of the Second World War, the strict paragraph 175, which put on homosexual acts, was punished until 1994. The entire community was also confronted with discrimination and persecution in the following decades. It was not until the social changes in the 1960s to reforms and the abolition of paragraph 175. This progress finally led to the introduction of registered civil partnerships in 2001 and to “marriage for all” 2017, which granted comprehensive rights.

Current challenges and worrying tendencies

Although there have been clear progress in legislation, the threat to the LGBTQIA+community remains. The number of queer anti -queer crimes rose to 135, 52 more than in the previous year in 2024. Historians warn that future political developments, especially with regard to right groups that could endanger rights. The passive attitude of the CDU/CSU to LGBTQIA+rights has also caused concerns. The latest calls for solidarity and a commitment to the rights of the LGBTQIA+community are therefore of great importance to fight against discrimination and to defend the achievements.