On 8 February, Tom Weidig, an AfD Member of Parliament, published a post on Facebook[1] that can only be described as transphobic, in which he congratulated US President Trump on his executive order banning transgender people from participating in team sports.
A series of homophobic comments and transphobic statements in particular were posted under this post. In a comment that the author has since deleted, he called for the ‘extermination of LGBTIQ+ people’. This comment was ‘liked’ by MP Weidig and two other people.
Rosa Lëtzebuerg, the group defending the interests of LGBTIQ+ people in Luxembourg, is not only appalled by this post, but also by the fact that it was ‘liked’ by an elected representative of the people. The fact that Mr Weidig is now apologising in interviews, after some media outlets have already reported on the incident, is further proof for Rosa Lëtzebuerg that things are not going as they should. The MP has not yet published an official statement on his own social media channel or on the party's website, which suggests that his apology is not addressed to his own followers, but only to the public who are demanding it. Furthermore, a ‘like’ ‘in the heat of the moment’ [2], as heard in Här Weidig's statement on Radio 100.7, must always be considered as an endorsement and consent to the call for hatred and violence in question. Even ‘in the heat of the moment’, such a comment is unacceptable.
Rosa Lëtzebuerg reports that the association has filed a complaint with the police, in particular because of the author of the hateful comment in question and the fact that MP Weidig ‘liked’ this comment.
We therefore call on Mr Weidig to recognise his political responsibility as a politician and to assume his responsibility as a representative of the people and, consequently, to resign from his political positions in the House and the Council of State.
Publishing and supporting such messages and failing to take appropriate and proportionate measures cannot remain without consequences.
We therefore criticise the ADR party, which, as of now (11/02/2025, 13:00), has neither commented on the incident nor taken disciplinary action against its MPs. This behaviour contributes to radicalisation against queer people and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/162kqVYMwY/
[2] https://www.100komma7.lu/news/Tom-Weidig-entschellet-sech-fir?pd=radio