German Minister for Family Affairs wants to strengthen the fight against homophobia

German Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) has announced that she will fight back against homophobia in the face of the alleged Islamist terrorist attack on a gay club in Oslo.

Berlin - "The attack in Oslo made me very sad," she told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (Monday edition). "My sympathy goes to the bereaved." Paus added: "We must not give way to extremism, no matter from which corner, not an inch. We must defend our free, tolerant society at all costs. That's what I campaign for, and that's what I advocate for my ministry gets involved with numerous programs and campaigns." The minister was confident that progress can be made.

"The earlier in life people experience that there is great social diversity and that they experience this as an enrichment, the more resilient they become to extremism," she said. "We are currently working with the Ministry of the Interior on a democracy promotion law. One of the goals is to strengthen project funding in the field of extremism prevention."

In any case, a lot has already improved. "Today, fortunately, it's easier to come out as homosexual than it was when I was young," says Paus. "Anyone who makes gay jokes has to reckon with contradiction today. Young people today are more free in this regard, and that's a good development."

Source: Der Newsticker

Photo: Fabian Sommer/Pool/AFP