LGBT rights in Germany

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Germany have evolved significantly over the course of the last decades. During the 1920s and early 1930s, lesbian and gay people in Berlin were generally tolerated by society and many bars and clubs specifically pertaining to gay men were opened.[2] Although same-sex sexual activity between men was already made illegal under Paragraph 175 by the German Empire in 1871, Nazi Germany extended these laws during World War II, which resulted in the persecution and deaths of thousands of homosexual citizens. The Nazi extensions were repealed in 1950 and same-sex sexual activity between men was decriminalized in both East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively. The age of consent was equalized in East Germany in 1989 and in unified Germany in 1994.

Location of Germany (dark green)

 in Europe (light green & dark grey)
 in the European Union (light green)   [Legend]

StatusLegal since 1968 (East Germany) and 1969 (West Germany)
Age of consent equalised and full legalisation in 1994
Gender identityTransgender persons allowed to change legal gender without required sterilisation and surgery[1]
MilitaryLGBT people allowed to serve
Discrimination protectionsSexual orientation and gender identity protection nationwide; some protections vary by region (see below)
Family rights
Recognition of relationshipsSame-sex marriage since 2017
AdoptionFull adoption rights since 2017

Same-sex marriage has been legal since 1 October 2017, after the Bundestag passed legislation giving same-sex couples full marital and adoption rights on 30 June 2017.[3] Prior to that, registered partnerships were available to same-sex couples, having been legalised in 2001. These partnerships provided most though not all of the same rights as marriages, and they ceased to be available after the introduction of same-sex marriage. Same-sex stepchild adoption first became legal in 2005 and was expanded in 2013 to allow someone in a same-sex relationship to adopt a child already adopted by their partner.[4] Discrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity vary across Germany, but discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services is banned nationwide. Transgender people have been allowed to change their legal gender since 1980. The law initially required them to undergo surgical alteration of their genitals in order to have key identity documents changed. This has since been declared unconstitutional.[5] In May 2020, Germany became the fifth nation in the world to enact a nationwide ban on conversion therapy for minors.[6]

Despite two of the three main political parties in government being socially conservative on the issues of LGBT rights (CDU/CSU), Germany has frequently been seen as one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world.[7][8] Recent polls have indicated that a large majority of Germans support same-sex marriage.[9][10] Another poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, in 2013 indicated that 87% of Germans believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which was the second highest score in the 39 countries polled, following Spain (88%).[11] Berlin has been referred to by publications as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world.[12] Former Mayor of Berlin Klaus Wowereit is one of the most famous openly gay men in Germany,[13] next to the former Mayor of Hamburg, Ole von Beust, the Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn,[14] the deceased former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor, Guido Westerwelle,[15] the former Federal Ministry of the Environment, Barbara Hendricks,[16] comedians Hape Kerkeling,[17] and Hella von Sinnen,[18] or political journalist Anne Will.[19] Founded in 1981, the Akademie Waldschlösschen, an adult education conference center near Göttingen, has developed into a national networking hub for LGBTI teachers, lawyers, clergy, gay fathers and gay and lesbian student groups at German universities. Other famous gay rights activists include Rosa von Praunheim, whose film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives (1971) triggered the modern gay liberation movement in Germany.[20]

History of laws regarding same-sex sexual activity

A memorial in Berlin to the homosexual victims of Nazi persecution. The text reads: Totgeschlagen, Totgeschwiegen, Den homosexuellen Opfern des Nationalsozialismus ("Beaten to death, Silenced to death, To the homosexual victims of Nazism")

Homosexuality was punishable by death in the Holy Roman Empire from 1532 until its dissolution in 1806 and from 1620 to 1794 in Prussia. The influence of the Napoleonic Code in the early 1800s sparked decriminalisations in much of Germany outside of Prussia. However, in 1871, the year the federal German Empire was formed, Paragraph 175 of the new Penal Code recriminalised homosexual acts. The law was extended under Nazi rule, and convictions multiplied by a factor of ten to about 8,000 per year. Penalties were severe, and 5,000–15,000 suspected offenders were interned in concentration camps, where most of them died.

The Nazi additions were repealed in East Germany in 1950, but homosexual relations between men remained a crime until 1968. West Germany kept the more repressive version of the law, legalising male homosexual activity one year after East Germany, in 1969. The age of consent was equalized in East Germany at 14 years in 1989,[21] and in unified Germany in 1994. It is now 14 years (16/18 in some circumstances) for female-female, male-male and female-male sexual activity.

East Germany (1949–1990)

East Germany inherited Paragraph 175. Communist gay activist Rudolf Klimmer, modelling himself on Magnus Hirschfeld and his Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, campaigned in 1954 to have the law repealed, but was unsuccessful. His work prevented any further convictions for homosexuality after 1957.[22]

In the five years following the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany, the GDR Government instituted a program of "moral reform" to build a solid foundation for the new socialist republic in which masculinity and the traditional family were championed, while homosexuality, seen to contravene "healthy mores of the working people", continued to be prosecuted under Paragraph 175. Same sex activity was "alternatively viewed as a remnant of bourgeois decadence, a sign of moral weakness, and a threat to the social and political health of the nation".[23]

In East Germany, Paragraph 175 ceased to be enforced from 1957 but remained on the books until 1968. Officially, homosexuality was decriminalised in East Germany in 1968.[22][24]

According to historian Heidi Minning, attempts by lesbian and gay activists to establish a visible community were "thwarted at every turn by the GDR Government and the SED party". Minning wrote: Police force was used on numerous occasions to break up or prevent public gay and lesbian events. Centralised censorship prevented the presentation of homosexuality in print and electronic media, as well as the import of such materials.[25]

The Protestant Church provided more support than the state, allowing meeting spaces and printing facilities.[26]

Towards the end of the 1980s, just before the collapse of the iron curtain, the East German Government opened a state-owned gay disco in Berlin.[27] On 11 August 1987, the East German Supreme Court affirmed that "homosexuality, just like heterosexuality, represents a variant of sexual behavior. Homosexual people do therefore not stand outside socialist society, and the civil rights are warranted to them exactly as to all other citizens".[23]

In 1988, the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden commissioned the state-owned film studio, DEFA, to make the documentary film Die andere Liebe ("The Other Love"). It was the first DEFA film about homosexuality and its aim was to convey official state acceptance.[28] In 1989, the German Hygiene Museum also commissioned DEFA to make the GDR's only HIV/AIDS prevention documentary, Liebe ohne Angst ("Love Without Fear"). This did not focus on homosexuality directly but pointed out that AIDS was not a "gay disease".[29][30]

In 1989, DEFA produced the film Coming Out, directed by Heiner Carow, telling the story of an East German man coming to accept his homosexuality, with much of it shot in East Berlin gay bars. It was the only East German feature film on the theme of same-sex desire ever produced.[31] It won a number of awards including a Silver Bear and Teddy Award at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival, and awards at the National Feature Film Festival of the GDR.[31][32][33]

Jürgen Lemke is considered one of the most prominent East German gay rights activists and has published a book on the subject ("Gay Voices from East Germany", English edition published in 1991). Lemke claimed that the gay community was far more united in the GDR than it was in the West.[34]

West Germany (1949–1990)

West Germany inherited Paragraph 175, which remained on the books until 1969. However, as opposed to East Germany, the churches' influence in West Germany was very strong. Fundamentalist Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church were staunchly opposed to LGBT rights legislation.[35]

As a result of these strong socially conservative influences, the German Christian Democratic Union, the dominant political force in post-war West Germany, tended to ignore or oppose most gay rights issues. While their frequent coalition partners the Free Democratic Party tended to have a stronger belief in civil liberties, they were, as a smaller party, less likely to alienate the more socially conservative elements in the larger Christian Democratic Union.[35]

During the Cold War era, support for gay rights in Germany was generally restricted to the Free Democratic Party, the Social Democratic Party and, later in the 1980s, the Greens. At the national level, advancements in gay rights did not begin to happen until the end of the Cold War and the electoral success of the Social Democratic Party. For example, in 1990, the law was changed so that homosexuality and bisexuality were no longer grounds for being discriminated against in the military.[35]

The first kiss between two men on German television was shown in Rosa von Praunheim's film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives (1971). This film marks the beginning of the German modern gay liberation movement. In 1986, the popular soap opera Lindenstraße showed the first gay kiss in a German TV series. From then on, many other television shows followed this example. The creation of private TV stations in 1984 resulted in a stronger LGBT presence in the media by the end of the decade. The station RTL in particular was very gay-friendly and some TV stars had come out by then.[35]

Annulment of convictions

In 2002, the German Government decided to overturn any convictions for homosexuality made during the Nazi period.[36]

In May 2016, Justice Minister Heiko Maas announced that gay and bisexual men who were convicted of same-sex sexual activity after World War II would have their convictions overturned.[36] Maas said the following in a statement:

We will never be able to eliminate completely these outrages by the state, but we want to rehabilitate the victims. The homosexual men who were convicted should no longer have to live with the taint of conviction.

In October 2016, the German Government announced the introduction of a draft law to pardon around 50,000 men for the prosecutions they endured due to their sexual orientation.[37] On 22 March 2017, the Germany Cabinet officially approved the bill.[38] The bill, which also foresees compensation of €3,000 (£2,600) for each conviction, plus €1,500 (£1,300) for every year of jail time, then had to obtain parliamentary approval.[39] On 22 June 2017, the Bundestag (German Parliament) unanimously passed the bill to implement the scheme to rehabilitate gay and bisexual men.[40] The bill then went back to the Bundesrat for final approval, and was signed into law by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 17 July 2017.[41]

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Same-sex couples have been legally recognized in Germany since 2001. That year, registered life partnerships (eingetragene Lebenspartnerschaft) were instituted, giving same-sex couples rights and obligations in areas such as inheritance, alimony, health insurance, immigration, hospital, jail visitations, and name change. Subsequently, the Constitutional Court repeatedly ruled in favor of same-sex couples in registered partnerships, requiring the Bundestag to make incremental changes to the partnership law. In one case, the European Court of Justice ruled that refusing a widow's pension to the same-sex partner of a deceased person is direct discrimination if the partnership was comparable to marriage (see also "same-sex unions in the European Union").[42]

Even though a majority of the political parties in the Bundestag supported legalising same-sex marriage, attempts to follow through with the proposal were repeatedly blocked by CDU/CSU, the largest parliamentary party and the dominant party in the government coalitions since 2005. This changed on the final sitting day of the Bundestag before the 2017 summer break, when the junior party in the coalition, the Social Democratic Party, introduced a bill to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption which had previously passed the Bundesrat in September 2015.[43] German Chancellor Angela Merkel moderated her stance on the issue by allowing members of the CDU/CSU to follow their personal conscience rather than the party line, which freed up moderate members who had long been in favour of same-sex marriage to vote for it.[44] On 30 June 2017,[45] the SPD, Die Linke and the Greens as well as 75 members of the CDU/CSU formed a majority in the Bundestag to pass the bill by 393 votes to 226.[46] The law came into effect three months after promulgation, on 1 October 2017.[47]

The first same-sex weddings in Germany were celebrated on 1 October 2017.[48] Berlin couple Karl Kreile and Bodo Mende, a couple for 38 years,[49] were the first same-sex couple to exchange their vows under the new law and did so at the town hall of Schöneberg, Berlin.[49]

Adoption and parenting

In 2004, the registered partnership law (originally passed in 2001) was amended, effective on 1 January 2005, to give registered same-sex couples limited adoption rights (stepchild adoption only) and reform previously cumbersome dissolution procedures with regard to division of property and alimony. In 2013, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that if one partner in a same-sex relationship has adopted a child, the other partner has the right to become the adoptive mother or father of that child as well; this is known as "successive adoption".[50] The same-sex marriage law, passed in June 2017, gave same-sex couples full adoption rights.[46][47] On 10 October 2017, a court in Berlin's Kreuzberg district approved the first application for joint adoption of a child by a same-sex couple.[51]

There is no legal right to assisted reproduction procedures for lesbian couples, such as artificial insemination and in vitro fertilisation, but such practices are not explicitly banned either. The German Medical Association is against explicit legalisation and directs its members not to perform such procedures. Since this directive is not legally binding, however, sperm banks and doctors may work with lesbian clients if they wish. This makes it harder for German lesbian couples to have children than in some other countries, but it is becoming increasingly popular. If a married lesbian couple conceives a child via donor insemination, the non-biological parent is not automatically recognized on the child's birth certificate and must go through an adoption procedure. This is not the case for married heterosexual couples, where the non-biological father is automatically recognized as a legal parent. A bill initiated by Alliance 90/The Greens in June 2018 to rectify this inequality is pending in the Bundestag.[52][53][54] In October 2018, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) in Karlsruhe ruled that, unlike heterosexual couples, the wife of the child's legal mother does not automatically become a parent, and that an adoption is necessary. This specific case involved a lesbian couple from Saxony, who had converted their civil partnership in mid-October 2017 into a marriage. At the beginning of November, their child was born via artificial insemination. When trying to record the birth, only the biological mother was allowed to register. The couple then unsuccessfully applied to the registry office to correct the birth record so that the non-biological mother could also be listed as the child's mother. The office rejected this request, whereupon the woman filed suit. A district court in Chemnitz initially ruled for the couple, but the Dresden Higher Regional Court overturned this decision in April 2018. Eventually, after another appeal, the Federal Court of Justice ruled against them.[55][56] In its judgment, the Court referenced Paragraph 1592 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, which states that "the father of a child is the man who at the moment of birth is married to the child's mother". The Ministry of Justice has begun looking into legal reforms to grant automatic co-parent recognition for lesbian couples.

In May 2019, Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Franziska Giffey recommended that teachers use forms that are gender-neutral, which no longer use "mother and father" but instead "parent 1 and parent 2".[57][58]

Military service

LGBT people are permitted to serve openly in the German Armed Forces.

The Bundeswehr maintained a "glass ceiling" policy that effectively banned homosexuals from becoming officers until 2000. First Lieutenant Winfried Stecher, an army officer demoted for his homosexuality, had filed a lawsuit against former Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping. Scharping vowed to fight the claim in court, claiming that homosexuality "raises serious doubts about suitability and excludes employment in all functions pertaining to leadership". However, before the case went to trial, the Defense Ministry reversed the policy. While the German Government declined to issue an official explanation for the reversal, it was widely believed that Scharping was overruled by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former Vice-Chancellor Joschka Fischer. Nowadays, according to general military orders given in the year 2000, tolerance towards all sexual orientations is considered to be part of the duty of military personnel. Sexual relationships and acts amongst soldiers outside service times, regardless of the sexual orientation, are defined to be "irrelevant", regardless of the rank and function of the soldier(s) involved, while harassment or the abuse of functions is considered a transgression, as well as the performance of sexual acts in active service.[59] Transgender persons may also serve openly in the German Armed Forces.[60]

In September 2020, the Germany Government issued a formal apology for past anti-gay discrimination in the military.[61][62][63] In November 2020, the German Cabinet approved legislation providing compensation to LGBT servicepeople for past discrimination and harassment. The bill is awaiting a vote in the Bundestag.[64][65]

Discrimination protections

Berlin Pride in 1997
Hamburg Pride in 2014
The 2015 edition of Cologne Pride

In the fields of employment, goods and services, education and health services, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal throughout Germany. As a signatory to the Treaty of Amsterdam, Germany was required to amend its national anti-discrimination laws to include, among others, sexual orientation. It failed to do so for six years, due to discussions about the scope of the proposed laws. Some of the proposals were debated because they actually surpassed the requirements of the Treaty of Amsterdam (namely, extending discrimination protection for all grounds of discrimination to the provision of goods and services); the final version of the law, however, was criticised as not fully complying with some parts of the Treaty, especially with respect to the specifications about the termination of work contracts through labor courts.[66] The Bundestag finally passed the General Act on Equal Treatment (German: Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz) on 29 June 2006; the Bundesrat voted on it without discussion on 7 July 2006. Having come into force on 18 August 2006, the law bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, education, health services and the provision of goods and services.[67]

Some state constitutions have anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity, including the constitutions of Berlin (since 1995), Brandenburg (since 1992), Bremen (since 2001), Saarland (since 2011) and Thuringia (since 1993), and Saxony-Anhalt in the public sector since 1997.[68][69][70] Article 10(2) of the Berlin Constitution reads as follows:[71]

No one may be prejudiced or favoured because of sex, birth, race, language, national or social origin, faith, religious or political opinions or sexual orientation.

Hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is banned in Germany.[72] German law prohibits incitement to hatred based on membership to a certain social or ethnic group. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 245 cases of homophobic and transphobic attacks occurred in the first half of 2019, compared to 351 recorded in all of 2018.[73]

Basic Law amendment

In 1994, although a majority in the Joint Constitutional Commission of the Bundestag and Bundesrat voted in favor of the inclusion of a prohibition on discrimination based on sexual identity in the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), the required two-thirds majority was not achieved.

In June 2018, the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia submitted a draft bill to the Bundesrat to amend article 3 of the Basic Law to add the characteristics "sexual and gender identity". In July, the draft proposal failed after the state of Berlin requested that it be rejected, as it became clear that the two-thirds majority would not be achieved.[74][75]

In May 2019, Alliance 90/The Greens, the Free Democratic Party and The Left proposed a joint legislative initiative to amend Article 3 of the Basic Law to ban discrimination on grounds of "sexual identity" (sexuelle Identität).[76] In November 2019, the Christian Democratic Union expressed support for the initiative.[77]

Transgender and intersex rights

Since 1980, the Gesetz über die Änderung der Vornamen und die Feststellung der Geschlechtszugehörigkeit in besonderen Fällen has stated that transgender persons may change their legal sex following sex reassignment surgery and sterilization.[68][78] In January 2011, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that these two requirements were unconstitutional.[5][79]

In May 2019, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior presented a draft bill to reform the law. It was criticized by LGBT groups for failing to adopt a self-determination model and still requiring transgender people to go to court before a legal gender change. In addition, it would introduce the concept of "spousal veto", and requires a three-year waiting period before the applicant can reapply to change gender after a spousal veto or a negative court decision.[80]

The German Society for Transidentity and Intersexuality estimates the number of transgender and intersex people in Germany at between 210,000 and 500,000 people.[81]

Since 2013, German law has allowed children born with atypical sexual anatomy to have their gender left blank instead of being categorised as male (männlich) or female (weiblich). The Swiss activist group Zwischengeschlecht criticised this law, arguing that "if a child's anatomy does not, in the view of physicians, conform to the category of male or the category of female, there is no option but to withhold the male or female labels given to all other children".[82] The German Ethics Council and the Swiss National Advisory Commission also criticised the law, saying that "instead of individuals deciding for themselves at maturity, decisions concerning sex assignment are made in infancy by physicians and parents".[83]

In November 2017, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) ruled that civil status law must allow a third gender option,[84] meaning that intersex people would have another option besides being listed as female or male or having a blank gender entry.[85] A government proposal on the matter was presented in August 2018.[86] Intersex individuals would be able to register themselves as "divers" on official documents.[87] The proposal was approved by the Bundestag in December 2018,[88] and took effect on 1 January 2019.[89] The "divers" option is available for such documents as birth certificates, passports and driver's licenses; however, intersex people are required to receive a doctor's statement or medical certification confirming their intersex status, which was criticized by LGBT groups. Additionally, parents are able to use the "divers" category for newborns with unclear sex traits. In April 2019, the Ministry of the Interior clarified that the "divers" option is applicable to intersex people only, not transgender people.[90]

Conversion therapy

Conversion therapy has a negative effect on the lives of LGBT people, and can lead to low self-esteem, depression and suicide ideation. It is opposed by every medical organisation in Germany.[91]

In 2008, the German Government declared itself completely opposed to the pseudoscientific practice.[92] In 2013, Alliance 90/The Greens introduced a draft bill to the Bundestag to ban conversion therapy on minors, but it was never voted on. A petition calling on the Health Ministry to ban the practice was launched in July 2018, and had collected about 60,000 signatures by mid-August 2018.

In February 2019, openly gay Health Minister Jens Spahn stated that he wanted conversion therapy for both minors and adults to be made illegal, calling it "a form of assault". Spahn said he hoped to work together with Justice Minister Katarina Barley for a law to ban conversion therapy, that he hoped would be approved by the autumn of 2019.[93][94][95] In April 2019, after an online petition on the issue started by international LGBT organisation All Out collected around 110,000 signatures, Spahn called for a commission to draft proposals on how exactly such a ban can be introduced. The panel would then present its final report in autumn. The commission met in May and June for two full-day workshops. Likewise, the Ministry of Health invited politicians, scientists and those affected, as well as institutions from abroad who have already gained experience with legal prohibitions, to participate in the exchange. In June, Spahn presented in a press conference the results of two scientific reports that denounced conversion therapy and called for a legal ban.[96] In early November 2019, Spahn submitted a draft bill that would ban the use of conversion therapy on minors and punish those coercing, deceiving and threatening someone of any age into the practice.[97][98] On 18 December, the Cabinet gave its approval to the draft bill. Conversion therapy on adults would also be banned, provided there was a "lack of will power" such as coercion, threats, deceit or misapprehension. The ban would also be in effect for psychotherapeutic and pastoral conversations, but only if "the conversational partner purposefully tries to influence one's sexual orientation". People charged with illegally performing conversion therapy may face up to one year in prison. Offering, promoting and referring to conversion therapy in case of minors would also be deemed illegal and may carry a fine of 30,000 €. Both people performing the therapies and legal guardians "grossly violating their duty of care" may be charged.[99] The legislation was approved by the Bundestag on 7 May 2020 with support from all political parties except the AfD.[100][101]

There was also an initiative of several federal states for a ban on conversion therapy. The states of Hesse, Berlin, Bremen, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein tabled a joint motion in the Bundesrat, which was presented in plenary on 12 April 2019.[102][103][104] The states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia agreed to the motion, while Bavaria expressed potential support but with some modifications. The motion was to be voted on in plenary in the Bundesrat in May, but was later postponed.[105] Another bill to ban conversion therapy for minors and a motion with numerous measures to educate and support victims of such practices was presented by the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag in March 2019.[106][107][108]

Blood donation

In Germany, as in many other countries, men who have sex with men (MSM) were previously not allowed to donate blood. In June 2016, German health ministers announced that the MSM ban would be lifted, replacing it with a one-year deferral period. The proposal to lift the ban was championed by Saarland Health Minister Monika Bachmann.[109] Since summer 2017, gay and bisexual men have been allowed to donate blood following a year of abstinence from sex.[110]

Bone marrow donation has been allowed since December 2014.[111]

Openly gay and lesbian politicians

There are several prominent German politicians who are openly gay. Among them are former Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit (having outed himself with the famous words "Ich bin schwul – und das ist auch gut so!" ["I am gay – and that's a good thing!"]) and Johannes Kahrs (from the SPD); Volker Beck,[112] Kai Gehring, Anne Klein, Ulle Schauws, Gerhard Schick and Anja Hajduk (from The Greens); Harald Petzold (The Left); Alice Weidel (AfD); Jens Spahn and Stefan Kaufmann (from the CDU);[112] Bernd Fabritius (from the CSU); and Michael Kauch, Jens Brandenburg, Jörg van Essen, Heiner Garg, Thomas Sattelberger and Guido Westerwelle, who served as federal Foreign Minister from 2009–2013 and Vice-Chancellor from 2009–2011, (from the FDP). In addition, former Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust (CDU) did not deny anything when his father outed him but considered it a private matter; after leaving office he began talking about his homosexuality. In July 2007, Karin Wolff, the Minister of Education for Hesse, came out as a lesbian.[113] In December 2013, Barbara Hendricks (SPD), the Federal Minister for the Environment in the Third Merkel Cabinet, came out as lesbian. In 2012, Michael Ebling (SPD) became the Mayor of Mainz. In 2013 and 2015, Sven Gerich (SPD) and Thomas Kufen (CDU) became the openly gay mayors of Wiesbaden and Essen, respectively.[114][115]

Positions of political parties

The Christian-conservative parties, the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), support basic rights such as registered partnerships and some of its members support same-sex marriages.[116] Other major parties, including the Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Left (Die Linke), Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) support LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is opposed to full LGBT rights and opposes same-sex marriage, but is in favour of registered partnerships.

LGBT rights movement in Germany

Participants at Düsseldorf Pride waving rainbow flags, 2017
Participants at the 2016 Munich Pride parade dancing the traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler
The Social Democratic Party at the 2019 Karlsruhe Pride parade

The first gay journal in the world Der Eigene ("The Self-Owning") began publishing in 1896. The journal continued publishing, with contributions from Benedict Friedlaender, Hanns Heinz Ewers, Erich Mühsam and more, until 1932. During the 1920s and 1930s, several gay bars and clubs opened in Berlin's Schöneberg district. With the rise to power of the Nazi Party, officials closed the bars and censored and banned gay publications.

The first modern gay rights group in Germany was the Homosexual Action West Berlin (Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin, HAW), which was founded on 15 August 1971. The group formed as a result of Rosa von Praunheim's film It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives. From 1973 onwards, the group organised annual meetings with several other gay groups including the Homosexuelle Aktion Göttingen, founded in 1972 in the city of Göttingen, and the Homosexuelle Frauengruppe Münster (Homosexual Women's Group Münster). The first gay and lesbian protest was organised in Münster on 29 April 1972. The groups campaigned for the repeal of Paragraph 175 and societal acceptance of LGBT people. In 1975, several members of HAW split from the group to form their own organisation, the Lesbisches Aktionszentrum Westberlin (Lesbian Action Center West Berlin). HAW began to lose influence from the late 1970s; founding the gay club SchwuZ (SchwulenZentrum) and eventually shuting down in the late 90s.[117] The Federal Association of Homosexuality (Bundesverband Homosexualität) was established in Cologne in 1986 and dissolved in 1997. In 1990, the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD, Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland) was founded in Berlin. The LSVD is today Germany's largest LGBT rights organisation. Several more advocacy groups were formed, including Lesbenring in 1982, the Association of Lesbian and Gay Journalists (Bund Lesbischer und Schwuler JournalistInnen) in Cologne in 1997, the Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuals and the Church (Ökumenische Arbeitsgruppe Homosexuelle und Kirche) in 1977, and the Association of Gay and Lesbian Police Officers (Verband lesbischer und schwuler Polizeibediensteter), among many others. The Bundesverband Trans* and Intersexuelle Menschen e.V. are among several groups campaigning for transgender and intersex rights.

The first Christopher Street Day occurred in Berlin in 1979 with 400 masked participants. Attendance increased thereafter, with 15,000 attendees in 1990 and reaching 100,000 attendees in the late 90s. In 2005, the event attracted an estimated 400,000 people.[118] Today, Berlin Pride is among the city's largest events, attracting an estimated one million attendees in 2019.[119][120] Outside Berlin, pride parades are also held in numerous cities, including Bremen and Cologne which held their first events in 1979, and Hamburg (known as Hamburg Pride) and Munich whose first pride events were organized in 1980. Freiburg im Breisgau organized its first pride event in 1985, followed by Frankfurt in 1993, Dresden in 1994, Dortmund in 1996, Kiel in 1998 and Stuttgart in 1999. Events are also held in Bonn, Leipzig, Karlsruhe, Hanover, Nuremberg, Darmstadt, Bielefeld, Düsseldorf, Essen, Duisburg, Heidelberg, Wuppertal, Mannheim, Saarbrücken and Lübeck, among many others.[121]

Demographics

A May 2019 study revealed that 6.9% of the German population identified as LGBTI. The study also showed that 10.6% of the population of Cologne between the ages of 18 and 75 described themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer. This accounted to over 87,000 people in the city.[122]

Public opinion

LGBT rights activists at Cologne Pride carrying a banner with the flags of over 70 countries where homosexuality is illegal.

A 2013 Pew Research Center poll indicated that 87% of Germans believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which was the second highest in the 39 countries polled, following Spain at 88%.

46% of 20,000 German LGBT people said they had experienced discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity in the past year per the 2013 results of a survey by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (the EU average was 47%). Two-thirds of respondents said they concealed their sexual orientation at school and in public life and a fifth felt discriminated at work.[123]

In May 2015, PlanetRomeo, an LGBT social network, published its first Gay Happiness Index (GHI). Gay men from over 120 countries were asked about how they feel about society’s view on homosexuality, how they experience the way they are treated by other people and how satisfied are they with their lives. Germany was ranked 14th with a GHI score of 68.[124]

A 2017 poll found that 83% of Germans supported same-sex marriage, 16% were against.[125] For comparison, the 2015 Eurobarometer found that 66% of Germans thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 29% were against.[126]

The 2019 Eurobarometer showed that 88% of Germans believed gay and bisexual people should enjoy the same rights as heterosexual people, and 84% supported same-sex marriage.[127]

Summary table

Topic Status
Same-sex sexual activity legal (Nationwide since 1969)
Age of consent equalised (14) (Since 1994 in unified Germany, in East Germany since 1989)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment (Nationwide since 2006)[68]
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services (Nationwide since 2006)[68]
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)
Anti-discrimination laws covering gender identity in all areas (Nationwide since 2006)
Discrimination based on sex characteristics prohibited
Hate crimes and hate speech based on sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics prohibited
Same-sex marriage (Since 2017)[48]
Same-sex civil unions legal/recognised (Since 2001)[68]
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples (Since 2005)
Joint adoption by same-sex couples (Since 2017)[48]
Automatic parenthood on birth certificates for children of same-sex couples (Pending)[52][53][54]
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military (Since 2000)
Right to change legal gender (Since 1980)
Sterilisation and sex reassignment surgery not required for the change of legal gender (Since 2011)
Third gender option (Since 2019)
Homosexuality, transsexuality and transvestism declassified as illnesses
Conversion therapy banned on minors (Since 2020)[128]
Access to IVF for lesbian couples (Not legally binding, but doctors and sperm banks may work with lesbian couples if they wish)
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples (Both altruistic and commercial surrogacy are illegal for all couples, different-sex and same-sex; however, case law allows a foreign judicial decision establishing legal parenthood of the genetic father and his life partner to be recognised under certain conditions in case of surrogacy abroad)[129]
MSMs allowed to donate blood / (Since 2017, 1-year deferral period)[110]

See also

Notes

    References

    1. "Prerequisites for the statutory recognition of transsexuals according to § 8.1 nos. 3 and 4 of the Transsexuals Act are unconstitutional" (PDF).
    2. Ginn, H. Lucas (12 October 1995). "Gay Culture Flourished in Pre-Nazi Germany". Update, Southern California's gay and lesbian weekly newspaper. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    3. "Germany's Bundestag passes bill on same-sex marriage". Deutsche Welle. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    4. "German court expands adoption rights of gay couples". Reuters. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    5. "ERT Notes Steps Taken Around the World Recognising the Gender Identity of Gender Variant Persons". Equal Rights Trust. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    6. Fitzsimmons, Timothy (8 May 2020). "Germany is 5th country to ban conversion therapy for minors". NBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
    7. Rebecca Baird-Remba (23 March 2013). "World's Most Gay Friendly Countries". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    8. "The 20 most and least gay-friendly countries in the world". GlobalPost. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    9. "Enquête sur la droitisation des opinions publiques européennes" [Survey of the European public about changes in law] (PDF). IFOP Département Opinion et Stratégies d'Entreprise (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
    10. "Same-Sex Marriage Citizens in 16 Countries Assess Their Views on Same-Sex Marriage for a Total Global Perspective". Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
    11. "The Most Gay-Friendly Country in the World is... - Spain, followed by Germany, Czech Republic, and Canada, new study finds". Newser.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
    12. Marcus Field (17 September 2008). "The ten best places in the world to be gay". The Independent. Retrieved 8 October 2017. Berlin. It may have taken 75 years, but the German capital once again enjoys the kind of open gay scene that Christopher Isherwood described so evocatively in his 1939 memoir Goodbye to Berlin. Perhaps the painful period of Nazi rule and division makes the city even more attractive to people with alternative lifestyles - you have to be unconventional to want to live here. The magnificently restored 19th-century buildings, the grand boulevards and the famous park and woodlands make the perfect backdrop for queer culture. A former mayor of Berlin is gay, the Kit Kat club still exists, and Europe's first exclusively gay old people's home - the Asta Nielsen Haus - opened in the city this year.
    13. "Vor 15 Jahren schrieb Klaus Wowereit Geschichte". queer.de (in German). Retrieved 28 January 2019.
    14. "Out on the Right: On Being Gay, Conservative and Catholic". Spiegel Online. 23 November 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
    15. Connolly, Kate (18 March 2016). "Guido Westerwelle, former German foreign minister, dies at 54". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    16. Online, FOCUS. "Nebensatz outet Ministerin Hendricks als lesbisch". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    17. Tholl, Gregor (7 December 2011). "TV-Geschichte: Das skandalöse Zwangs-Outing Hape Kerkelings". Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    18. Online, FOCUS. "Wir haben eine sehr freie Beziehung". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    19. Bisky, Jens (17 May 2010). "Anne Wills Outing: Der schönste Coming-Out-Satz". Sueddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 29 July 2019.
    20. "Germany's most famous gay rights activist: Filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
    21. Brühl, Olaf. "Chronologisches Archiv, Daten-Pool zum Diskurs männlicher Homosexualität in der DPR, bzw. von 1947 bis 15.5 1997". olafbruehl.de (in German). Retrieved 14 June 2020.
    22. Manfred Herzer, J. Edgar Bauer (Hrsg.): Hundert Jahre Schwulenbewegung, Verlag rosa Winkel, 1998, ISBN 3-86149-074-9, S. 55.
    23. Gerdes, Stefanie (1 March 2016). "Take a look inside the burgeois terror of gay life behind the Berlin Wall". Gay Star News.
    24. Wirtz, Bill (30 July 2017). "Communist East Germany's awful track record on homosexuality".
    25. Mining, Heidi (2000) Who is the 'I' in "I love you"?: The negotiation of gay and lesbian identities in the former East Berlin in Anthropology of East Europe Review, vo. 18, no.2 Autumn 2000. Retrieved 20 October 2018
    26. "GHDI - Document". ghdi.ghi-dc.org.
    27. James Kirchick (15 February 2013). "Documentary Explores Gay Life in East Germany". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    28. The Other Love (Die andere Liebe) on DEFA Library website. Retrieved 6 July 2018
    29. Love Without Fear (Liebe ohne Angst) on DEFA Library website. Retrieved 7 July 2018
    30. Liebe ohne Angst on the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum. eMuseum database. Retrieved 7 July 2018
    31. Wagner, Brigitte B. (ed.) (2014) DEFA after East Germany, pp. 229-232. London: Camden House.
    32. Berlinale: 1990 Prize Winners. Retrieved 7 July 2018
    33. Teddy Award - Coming Out. Retrieved 7 July 2018
    34. Peck, Jeffrey M.; Lemke, Jürgen (1991). "Being Gay in Germany: An Interview with Jürgen Lemke". New German Critique (52): 144–154. doi:10.2307/488193. JSTOR 488193.
    35. Whisnant, Clayton. Male Homosexuality in West Germany: Between Persecution and Freedom, 1945–69. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2013
    36. "Germany anti-gay law: Plan to rehabilitate convicted men". BBC News. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    37. Meka Beresford (8 October 2016). "Germany to pay out 30 million euros in compensation to men convicted under historic gay sex laws". Pink News. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    38. "Germany to quash 50,000 gay convictions". BBC. 22 March 2017.
    39. Lizzie Dearden (22 March 2017). "Germany to officially pardon 50,000 gay men convicted under Nazi-era law". Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    40. "Germany to quash convictions of 50,000 gay men under Nazi-era law". The Guardian. AFP. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    41. "Bundesgesetzblatt" (PDF). www.bgbl.de.
    42. "EU backs gay man's pension rights". BBC News. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    43. Nick Duffy (26 September 2016). "Germany's Bundesrat passes equal marriage bill despite Merkel's opposition". Pink News. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    44. "Der Riss unterm Konfettiregen". Die Zeit. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    45. "German Parliament Paves Way For Same-Sex Marriage". MSNBC. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    46. "Germany's Bundestag passes bill on same-sex marriage". Deutsche Welle. 30 June 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    47. "German president signs gay marriage bill into law". Deutsche Welle. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    48. "Germany's first same-sex "I do"'s as marriage equality dawns". Reuters. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    49. "Germany gay marriage: Couple are first to marry under new law". BBC News. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    50. "Germany strengthens gay adoption rights". Deutsche Welle. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    51. "Gay couple becomes first in Germany to adopt child". Deutsche Welle. 10 October 2017.
    52. "Ein Jahr Ehe für alle". Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. 1 October 2018. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
    53. Höhne, Valerie (27 September 2018). "Vor über einem Jahr wurde die "Ehe für alle" beschlossen. Sind nun also alle gleichgestellt? Gibt es keine Diskriminierung". Der Spiegel.
    54. "Neue Familien". Queer.de. 30 September 2018.
    55. ""Ehe für alle" heißt nicht "Elternschaft für alle"". MDR Aktuell (in German). 30 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
    56. "BGH hält an Ungleichbehandlung von verheirateten Frauen fest". Queer.de (in German). 30 October 2018.
    57. Schupelius, Gunnar (4 June 2019). "Ministerium will Mutter und Vater durch Elternteil 1 und 2 ersetzen". B.Z. (in German).
    58. "SPD will Vater + Mutter abschaffen". MMnews (in German). 5 June 2019.
    59. Cf. two orders of 2000: German Military Forces (Bundeswehr) (2000). "Anlage B 173 zu ZDv 14/3" (PDF) (in German). Working Group 'Homosexuals in the Bundeswehr'. Retrieved 8 October 2017.; and Inspector General of the German Military Forces (Bundeswehr) (2000). "Führungshilfe für Vorgesetzte – Sexualität" (PDF) (in German). Working Group 'Homosexuals in the Bundeswehr'. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    60. Lesley Clark (14 October 2014). "Transgender military personnel openly serving in 18 countries to convene in DC". Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    61. Moulson, Geir (17 September 2020). "Germany apologizes for past military anti-gay discrimination". ABC News.
    62. "Germany apologises for gay discrimination in the armed forces". Out in Perth. 19 September 2020.
    63. "Germany apologises for past military anti-gay discrimination". Devidiscourse. Berlin. 17 September 2020.
    64. Vandiver, John (27 November 2020). "Gay veterans in Germany to be eligible for compensation as nation deals with past discrimination". Stars and Stripes.
    65. Moulson, Geir (25 November 2020). "Germany to compensate gay servicepeople for discrimination". Associated Press.
    66. "What protection from discrimination do employees have on the grounds of sexual orientation in Germany?". Global Workplace Insider. 3 July 2015.
    67. "Antidiskriminierungsstelle - Publikationen - AGG in englischer Sprache". antidiskriminierungsstelle.de. 28 August 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    68. "Rainbow Europe". rainbow-europe.org. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    69. "Diskriminierungsverbot in die Bremische Landesverfassung" [Constitution of Bremen prohibits discrimination] (in German). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    70. ""Sexuelle Identität" soll Teil der saarländischen Landesverfassung warden" ["Sexual identity" is to be part of the Saarland constitution] (in German). 25 February 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    71. "The Constitution of Berlin". Berlin.de. 3 June 2016.
    72. Strafgesetzbuch: Volksverhetzung
    73. "Anstieg von LSBTI-feindlicher Hasskriminalität". Lesben- und Schwulverband (in German). 26 September 2019.
    74. Klein, Dennis (6 July 2018). "Bundesrat: Keine Mehrheit für LGBTI-Schutz im Grundgesetz". Queer.de (in German).
    75. "Bundesrat: Fachausschüsse bei Artikel 3 uneins". Queer.de (in German). 27 July 2018.
    76. Haßelmann, Britta (22 May 2019). "Schutz sexueller Identität ins Grundgesetz". gruene-bundestag.de (in German).
    77. Klein, Dennis (8 November 2019). "Union signalisiert Entgegenkommen bei Artikel 3". Queer.de (in German).
    78. "TSG - Gesetz über die Änderung der Vornamen und die Feststellung der Geschlechtszugehörigkeit in besonderen Fallen" [TSG - Act on the modification of the first names and the determination of the sex affiliation in special cases]. www.gesetze-im-internet.de (in German). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    79. "German Constitutional Court declares compulsory surgeries unconstitutional". tgeu.org. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    80. "Selbstbestimmge Änderung des Geschlechtseintrags ermöglichen". Lesben- und Schwulenverband (in German). 13 May 2019.
    81. Balk, Matthias (6 August 2019). "Transgender lawmakers calls Geman law 'degrading', demands abolition". dpa-international.
    82. Ellen K. Feder (7 November 2013). "Germany Has an Official Third Gender". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    83. Intersexuality Archived 14 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine Deutscher Ethikrat Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    84. "Bundesverfassungsgericht - Press - Civil status law must allow a third gender option". www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de.
    85. Germany officially recognising 'third sex' other than male and female The Independent, 8 November 2017
    86. Regierung will Option für drittes Geschlecht schaffen
    87. Regierung will Option für drittes Geschlecht schaffen, Die Zeit, 15 August 2018
    88. "Bundestag gibt grünes Licht für dritte Geschlechtsoption". t-online.de (in German). 14 December 2018.
    89. "Germany adopts intersex identity into law". BBC News. 1 January 2019.
    90. "Germany Rings in 2019 by Adopting Intersex Gender Status". National Law Review. 18 January 2019.
    91. "Gay conversion therapy gaining European followers | DW | 07.08.2011". DW.COM.
    92. "Antwort der Bundesregierung auf die Kleine Anfrage der Abgeordneten Volker Beck (Köln), Josef Philip Winkler, Hans-Christian Ströbele, weiterer Abgeordneter under der Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN" (PDF).
    93. Kowalski, Markus (15 February 2019). "Eine Form von Körperverletzung". taz.de (in German).
    94. "Germany joins push to ban gay conversion therapy". The Local.de. 16 February 2019.
    95. "German minister calls for ban on gay conversion therapy". Deutsche Welle. 15 February 2019.
    96. "Spahn plant Verbot der Homo-"Heilung" noch in diesem Jahr". Queer.de. 11 June 2019.
    97. "German health minister submits law banning conversion therapy". World Economic Forum. 6 November 2019.
    98. "German lawmaker introduces bill to ban conversion therapy for minors". Los Angeles Blade. 8 November 2019.
    99. "Bundeskabinett beschließt Verbot von Pseudo-Therapien gegen Homosexualität". Queer.de (in German). 18 December 2019.
    100. Bundestag.de: Bundestag verbietet Therapien zur „Heilung“ von Homosexualität (German), May 7, 2020
    101. "Germany passes law banning 'gay conversion therapy' for minors". BBC News. 8 May 2020.
    102. "Jens Spahn will Pseudotherapien gegen Homosexualität verbieten". Zeit Online (in German). 10 April 2019.
    103. Biederbeck, Max (10 April 2019). "Jens Spahn startet Arbeitsgruppe gegen "Homo-Heilung" – auch seine Kritiker sind dabei". watson.de (in German).
    104. "Spahn beruft Kommission zum Verbot von Homo-"Heilung"". Queer.de (in German). 10 April 2019.
    105. Kowalski, Markus (12 April 2019). "Bundesrat berät über Verbot von Homo-"Heilung"". Queer.de (in German).
    106. ""Konversiontherapien" bei Minderjährigen müssen rasch verboten werden". gruene-bundestag.de (in German). 10 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
    107. "Aktionsplan gegen "Konversiontherapien"". gruene-bundestag.de (in German). 15 March 2019.
    108. "Verbot von "Konversiontherapien": Grüne macheb Druck auf Bundesregierung". Queer.de (in German). 26 February 2019.
    109. Stefanie Gerdes (30 June 2016). "Germany's health ministers demand gay blood ban be lifted". Gay Star News. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    110. "Homosexuelle Männer dürfen Blut spenden - nach einem Jahr Enthaltsamkeit". Retrieved 7 August 2017.
    111. "Häufige Fragen". www.dkms.de. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    112. "Politik unterm Regenbogen". www.tagesspiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    113. "CDU-Ministerin liebt eine Heilpraktikerin" [CDU minister loves healer]. Bild (in German). 3 July 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    114. KG, VRM GmbH & Co. "OB-Interview: "Alle Mainzer sind vom anderen Ufer" - Michael Ebling und Sven Gerich übers Schwulsein - Allgemeine Zeitung". www.allgemeine-zeitung.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    115. Spletter, Gerd Niewerth und Martin (6 December 2015). "Essens Oberbürgermeister Thomas Kufen hat geheiratet". www.waz.de (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
    116. Welt.de: Diese Unionsabgeordneten stimmten für die Ehe für alle (German), 30 June 2017
    117. Afken, Janin; Wolf, Benedikt (2019). Sexual Culture in Germany in the 1970s: A Golden Age for Queers?. Springer Nature. ISBN 9783030274276.
    118. "Vermummt, zerstritten, erfolgreich – die Geschichte des Christopher Street Day".
    119. "Rund eine Million beim CSD Berlin". Nau.ch (in German). 28 July 2019.
    120. Goekalp, Taylan (27 July 2019). "Berlin Pride parade draws thousands in celebration of LGBT rights". dpa-international (in German).
    121. "CSD List: Gay Pride Calendar Germany 2020". coupleofmen.com. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
    122. "Köln: 10,6 Prozent sind LGBTI". Queer.de (in German). 27 May 2019.
    123. EU Study Finds Widespread Homophobia in Europe Der Spiegel 17 May 2013
    124. The Gay Happiness Index. The very first worldwide country ranking, based on the input of 115,000 gay men Planet Romeo. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    125. "CSU plans family-centered campaign, as Germans warm to gay marriage". 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
    126. "Special Eurobarometer 437" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2016.
    127. "Eurobarometer on Discrimination 2019: The social acceptance of LGBTI people in the EU". TNS. European Commission. p. 2. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
    128. "Germany passes law banning 'gay conversion therapy' for minors". BBC News. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
    129. "BUNDESGERICHTSHOF BESCHLUSS vom 10. Dezember 2014 in der Personenstandssache" (PDF). Retrieved 8 October 2017.

    Further reading

    • Steffens, Melanie C., and Christof Wagner. "Attitudes toward lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men in Germany." Journal of Sex Research 41.2 (2004): 137-149 online.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.