Austrian city removes its same-sex pedestrian crossing light figures

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Austrian city removes its same-sex pedestrian crossing light figures
A pedestrian crossing signal showing a female homosexual couple at a junction in Munich, Germany Credit: Joerg Koch/Getty Images

Earlier this year in May, Vienna set an example for several other cities in Austria, as well as Europe, when it replaced the little figures in pedestrian traffic lights with same-sex couples.

However, because of pressure from a right-wing party, one Austrian city, Linz, has removed the figures from its pedestrian crossing lights.

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"Traffic lights are for traffic and should not be misused to impart advice on how to live your life," councillor Markus Hein of the right-wing Freedom Party told BBC. Hein, who has opposed the initiative since its inception, also called the lights "completely unnecessary," claiming that gay rights are already advanced.

Vienna had adopted the new crossing light figures ahead of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest event, filling its streets with pairs of red and green men and women instead of the typical one man. The campaign was started in hopes of presenting Vienna as an open-minded city.

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A pedestrian crossing signal showing a male homosexual couple at a junction in Munich. Credit: Joerg Koch/Getty Images

Soon after, cities such as Salzburg, Linz and Munich followed suit.

Severin Mayr, a local Green Party lawmaker who supported the measure, told BBC that the removal was "shameful," adding that while "elsewhere signs are put up to promote openness and peaceful coexistence," Linz has now taken a step backwards.

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