A nice sign: Nancy Faeser (SPD) raised the rainbow flag in front of her Ministry of the Interior on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (Idahobit). It was the first time ever that the queer colors were featured there. For the LGBTIQ community, this is an encouraging signal of solidarity, under Home Minister Horst Seehofer there was never anything like it.

With the flag, Faser also reminds that the federal government has set itself some goals in terms of equality policy – and now has to deliver. At the top of the agenda is the plan to replace the discriminatory transsexual law with a self-determination law. According to Sven Lehmann, the queer commissioner appointed for the first time at the beginning of the legislative period, the federal government is currently working “at full speed” on it.

The reform of the law of descent is also on the traffic light agenda for queer politics laid down in the coalition agreement. Because children who are born in lesbian marriages initially have only one parent and must first be adopted by the second mother via stepchild adoption. A bad blunder. Something has to be done here soon too. With the rainbow flag, Faeser holds the government to account – at Idahobit 2023 they should have something to show for themselves