Celebrate Christopher Street Day - CSD demands action from the mayor - a queer advocate voices disapproval
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner's decision to open the Christopher Street Day (CSD) on July 27 in the city remains uncertain. The organizer of the CSD has set certain conditions that Wegner and the Senate must meet before he can act as the opening ceremonies' host. Marcel Voges, a member of the CSD association's board of directors, emphasized that Wegner had until July 14 to develop a concrete plan for the implementation of these key demands. Once he delivers the required plan, the next step will be determining who will open the CSD this year.
One of the main demands of the association is that Wegner follow through on his promise made during last year's CSD opening to strongly advocate for the inclusion of queer people in the Basic Law. "We're still waiting for action on this," Voges mentioned in a conversation with Tagesspiegel (Friday). "We don't want this to happen twice."
Queer Commissioner expresses discontent
Berlin's Queer Commissioner, Alfonso Pantisano, voiced his discontent with the CSD association's initiative. "Connecting the CSD's demands to what's supposed to be a blackmail attempt on Governing Mayor Kai Wegner is aggravating and incredibly erroneous," he stated on Friday. "I am certain that Mayor Wegner and the whole Berlin Senate will stand unwavering and together with the queer communities in our rainbow capital."
"The Berlin Senate has made it clear in their government policy guidelines that they will push for the amendment of Article 3, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law in the Bundesrat," Pantisano argued. "However, it's also important to note that it would take a two-thirds majority of MPs in the Bundestag and Länder in the Bundesrat to amend the Basic Law," he added.
