Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has approved the hoisting of the rainbow flag in front of federal government buildings, the Junge Freiheit news outlet reports.
The well-known flag of the gay movement has been hung out in many federal states on various occasions in front of public buildings for several years. However, until today there has been no unified regulation. In particular, it was unclear how the hoisting of the flag could be integrated with the state’s neutrality requirement.
“We are a modern and diverse country. It is high time that we show this more clearly as state institutions,” the social democrat politician explained on Twitter. “We want discrimination against people based on their sexual identity to end in all areas of society,” she added.
The rainbow flag may now be displayed as required “on flagpoles and flagstaffs in the official buildings of all federal authorities and agencies,” as well as facilities “that are subject to the supervision of federal authorities.” In addition, “the rainbow flag is allowed, for example, in entrance areas and inner courtyards and on facades.”
In 2008, for example, the then Berlin police president Dieter Glietsch had the rainbow flag hoisted in front of the police headquarters. Shortly before this, he had forbidden police officers, by way of instructions and regarding the neutrality requirement, to put German flags on their patrol cars to mark their support for the country’s national football team during the European Football Championship.