Overview
- Unionsfraktionschef Thorsten Frei publicly told the Funke media group on Saturday that he opposes explicitly adding “sexuelle Identität” to Article 3 of the Basic Law and called the step unnecessary.
- Frei also said he is against flying the rainbow flag on the Reichstag, arguing that motto flags do not belong on the building and that the Bundestag president should decide such matters.
- The proposal originated from a Bundesrat majority in September 2025 after a Berlin initiative and would add the words “sexuelle Identität” to the anti‑discrimination clause in Article 3.
- Constitutional change requires two‑thirds majorities in both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, and the Union’s unified rejection under Frei now makes that threshold appear unreachable.
- Supporters, led by the SPD after the CSD attack in Berlin, say naming sexual identity in the Basic Law would lock in protection for queer people beyond case law, while opponents point to existing Article 3 wording and Federal Constitutional Court rulings; the disagreement has shifted the fight to symbolic actions and public debate.