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Same-sex marriage was legalized in Spain in 2005. In 2004 the new Socialist government, led by President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, which would also include adoption by same-sex couples. After much debate, a law permitting same-sex marriage was passed by the Cortes Generales (Spain's bicameral parliament composed of the Senate and the Congress of Deputies) on 30 June 2005 and published on 2 July 2005. Same-sex marriage officially became legal in Spain on Sunday, 3 July 2005.

The ratification of this law has not been devoid of conflict, despite strong support from Spaniards. Catholic authorities in particular were adamantly opposed to it. Demonstrations for and against the law drew thousands of people from all parts of Spain. After its approval, the conservative People's Party challenged the law in Constitutional Court.

Unlike what happens in Canada, foreigners cannot marry in Spain while visiting. At least one partner must be Spanish to marry, although two foreigners may marry if they both reside in Spain. (...MORE)

Before the beginning of World War II, homosexuals in Germany, especially in Berlin, enjoyed more freedom and acceptance than anywhere else in the world. However, upon the rise of Adolf Hitler, gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of several groups targeted by the Nazi party. Beginning in 1933, gay organizations were banned, scholarly books about homosexuality, and sexuality in general, were burned, and homosexuals within the Nazi party itself were murdered. The Gestapo compiled lists of homosexuals, and they were compelled to sexually conform to the German norm. More than one million homosexuals were targeted, and at least 100,000 were imprisoned. Estimated deaths of gay men imprisoned in concentration camps vary from 15,000 to 600,000. Homosexuals in camps were treated in an unusually cruel manner by their captors, and were also persecuted by their fellow inmates. This was a factor in the relatively high death rate for homosexuals, compared to other "anti-social groups".

After the war, the treatment of homosexuals in concentration camps went unacknowledged by most countries, and some men were even re-arrested and imprisoned based on evidence found during the Nazi years. It was not until the 1980s that governments acknowledged this episode, and not until 2002 that the German government apologized to the gay community. This period still provokes controversy, however; and in 2005, when the European Parliament drafted a resolution regarding the Holocaust, mention of the persecution of homosexuals was excised after debate. (...MORE)

The Stonewall riots were a series of violent conflicts between New York City police officers and groups of gay and transgendered people that began on 28 June 1969, and lasted several days. Also called the Stonewall Rebellion or simply Stonewall, the clash was a watershed for the worldwide gay rights movement, as gay and transgendered people had never before acted together in such large numbers to forcibly resist police harassment directed towards their community.

The forces that were simmering before the riots were now no longer beneath the surface. The community created by the homophile organizations of the previous two decades had created the perfect environment for the creation of the Gay Liberation Movement. By the end of July the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was formed in New York and by the end of the year the GLF could be seen in cities and universities around the country. Similar organizations were soon created around the world including Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.

The actual Stonewall Inn was vacant and closed for most of the 1970s and '80s. It reopened after its first renovation in the early '90s. A second renovation in the late '90s brought in new crowds to its new multi-floor layout. The club remained popular until management lost its lease in 2006. New management expect to reopen the latest version of The Stonewall in February 2007.(MORE)