Marriage for all – what is taken for granted today was not always so: on May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the USA to allow same-sex marriage. Initially still limited to two years and only for native citizens, the law was opened in Massachusetts since 2008. Subsequently, other states in the USA followed this example, until in 2015 the marriage of same-sex partners was accepted in all American states.
In Germany, same-sex marriage was not declared legally valid until around two years later, in June 2017, by the Bundestag. Prior to that, partners of the same sex could only marry in form of a registered civil partnership. It was only four years ago that marriage – as we know it – was also opened up to them.
We would like to remember these and other advances in equality! However, inequalities and discrimination still exist in our society. Especially members of the LGBTQ community still face unequal conditions and discrimination today. Since 2005, the International Day against Homophobia, Bi-, Inter- and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) has taken place annually on May 17th as a day of action. In Germany many events are taking place today to draw attention to this issue. You can find some of them on the website of the Lesbian and Gay Association Germany (LSVD):
https://www.lsvd.de/de/ct/4929-IDAHOBIT-2021-Internationaler-Tag-gegen-Homo-Bi-Inter-und-Transphobie-Vielfalt-staerkt-uns
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