bakgrund
Hbtq-rättigheter i Tyskland
Wikipedia (en)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Germany have evolved significantly over the course of the last decades. During the 1920s, LGBT people in Berlin were generally tolerated by society and many bars and clubs specifically pertaining to gay men were opened. 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 The Nazi extensions were repealed in 1950 and same-sex sexual activity between men was decriminalized in both East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively.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 unified Germany in 1994.
Although same-sex marriage is not legal in Germany, registered partnerships for same-sex couples have been legal since 2001, which provides most of the same rights as opposite-sex married couples receive. Same-sex step adoption has also been legal since 2005 and was expanded in 2013 to allow someone in a same-sex relationship to adopt a child already adopted by their partner; however, joint adoption has not yet been legislated. 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 in principle banned countrywide. 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.
Despite two of the three political parties in the German Government being socially conservative on the issues of LGBT rights, Germany has frequently been seen as one of the most gay friendly countries in the world. Recent polls have indicated that a majority of Germans support same-sex marriage. Another poll in 2013 indicated that 87% of Germans viewed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, which was the second highest in the world (only 39 countries were polled) following Spain (88%). Berlin has been referred to by publications as one of the most gay friendly cities in the world. The former mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, is one of the most famous openly gay men in Germany, next to the former mayor of Hamburg, Ole von Beust, the Secretary of State of Finances, Jens Spahn, the deceased former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Guido Westerwelle and comedian Hape Kerkeling.
