Orlando massacre – Merkel takes a clear position

Chancellor Angela Merkel describes the massacres in Orlando as specifically aimed at homosexual people. (picture alliance / dpa / Gregor Fischer)

Merkel had been criticized because she had not yet described the crime scene in Orlando as a homosexual club and did not sufficiently appreciate the gay and lesbian victims. She now said: “We know that the exact background is not yet fully known. But we do know one thing: the assassin was perfectly clear that he would meet lesbian and gay people in the nightclub. And it was precisely these people targeted the massacre.”

In several statements by the government, “amazingly, the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender were avoided,” said the Berlin-Brandenburg Lesbian and Gay Association (LSVD). One misses “a clear sign of solidarity” with the victim groups, said Stefan Mielchen from the “Hamburg Pride” association on Deutschlandfunk. So far, all public solidarity activities for Orlando “emanated exclusively from civil society”.

Merkel calls for mutual respect

The Chancellor also described it as a warning sign that homophobic attitudes were increasing once more in Germany. She assured that her thoughts and actions are shaped and guided by the fact that “our life in open and free societies must be shaped by respect for each other – no matter what they believe, no matter what they look like and no matter who they love. ” This is the only way to combat hatred in a society.

Merkel had already angered homosexual associations in the past when she rejected the full equality of so-called gay marriage with a normal marriage – citing her gut feeling.

(tzi / tj)