Rainbow flag back in Lienz: a sign of diversity and tolerance!

Gebi Mair brings a new rainbow flag to the Lienz district administration and sets a strong sign of diversity and tolerance.
Gebi Mair brings a new rainbow flag to the Lienz district administration and sets a strong sign of diversity and tolerance. (Symbolbild/DNAT)

Rainbow flag back in Lienz: a sign of diversity and tolerance!

On June 10, 2025, the green club chairman Gebi Mair set a new symbolic accent for the LGBTQIA+community. In the district administration of Lienz, Mair handed over a new rainbow flag to the district chief Bettina Heinrich to replace the previously stolen flag. This happened as part of the Pride month of June, which is celebrated as a sign of diversity and tolerance worldwide. Mair expressed his joy over the possibility of attaching the flag on the house wall on the top floor, which means that it is now significantly more visible than before on the flag mast.

Mair traveled by bus to hand over the new symbol of acceptance and respect to the district captain after learning the theft of the original flag. He emphasized that the rainbow stands for diversity and wished that there was a similar openness in East Tyrol. He also reported on a citizen who hopes for a possible pride parade in Lienz.

a strong sign of support

In his speech, Mair Bettina Heinricher thanked for setting this important sign at the office building. As reports dolomitenstadt.at, there is a decision of the Tyrolean Landtag that the country house should also be flagged in June. Mair plans to also request this decision for the district administrative teams in order to set uniform signs of support for the LGBTQIA+community.

The rainbow flag, which was designed by Gilbert Baker in San Francisco in 1978, is not just a local symbol, but has established itself as a transnational sign for LGBTQIA+rights. It stands for respect and acceptance and, with its six colorful stripes, shows important aspects of identity: pink represents sexuality, red for life, orange stands for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, blue for harmony and purple for spirituality. This illustrates the positive influence that the flag has had since its first major presentation during the "Gay Freedom Parade" in San Francisco in June 1978.

Current challenges for queer people

Despite these progress, queer people worldwide are still exposed to discrimination and violence. In Germany, for example, almost 1,500 hate motivated crimes against queer people were counted, an alarming increase of over 50% compared to the previous year. Many queer people experience social pressure and are often forced to develop avoidance strategies so as not to be perceived as a queer. These circumstances illustrate how important it is to continue to fight for the rights and recognition of LGBTQIA+

The rainbow flag is not only hoisted in many countries at public buildings during the "Pride Week", but also used as a sign of solidarity for queer people who live to countries in which they are persecuted. Initiatives to improve the legal framework for LGBTQIA+rights are still necessary, since the status achieved is often considered brittle. According to geo.de, the phenomenon of "pink washing" is increasingly observed in the economy, where the flag is often integrated into marketing strategies.

The activities in Lienz are a strong sign of a cosmopolitan attitude and show that despite the challenges, an important space for tolerance and respect must continue to be created.

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