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LGBT rights in Germany

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Germany rank among the highest in the world; having evolved significantly over the course of the last decades. During the 1920s and the 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. 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 The Nazi extensions were repealed in 1960 and same-sex sexual activity between men was decriminalized in both East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively.

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. 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.

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. Effective from 1 November 2024 individuals over 18 can change gender by self-determination. 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. In May 2020, Germany became the fifth nation in the world to enact a nationwide ban on conversion therapy for minors.

Despite the biggest opposition party—that headed the government from 2005 to 2021—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. Recent polls have indicated that a large majority of Germans support same-sex marriage. 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%). Berlin has been referred to by publications as one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world. 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 former Federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn, the deceased former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor, Guido Westerwelle, the former Federal Ministry of the Environment, Barbara Hendricks, comedians Hape Kerkeling, and Hella von Sinnen, or political journalist Anne Will. 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.

History of laws regarding same-sex sexual activity

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 first homosexual movement unsuccessfully campaigned for the repeal of the law both under the German Empire and in the Weimar Republic.

Under Nazism the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany resulted in convictions multiplying 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 persecution is considered the most severe persecution of homosexual men in history.

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, 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.

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".

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.

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.''

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

Towards the end of the 1980s, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East German Government opened a state-owned gay disco in Berlin. 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".

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. 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".

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. 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.

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.

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.

The Frankfurt Homosexual Trials of 1950/51 constituted a significant chapter in the persecution of homosexual men within the Federal Republic of Germany, representing a continuity from the Nazi era while also occurring under the new administration of the Adenauer era. Primarily instigated by the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, these trials were propelled forward with the aid of sex worker Otto Blankenstein, who served as a pivotal witness.

Amidst prevailing socially conservative sentiments, the German Christian Democratic Union, wielding considerable political influence in post-war West Germany, generally disregarded or actively opposed gay rights issues. Conversely, their frequent coalition partners, the Free Democratic Party, often espoused stronger advocacy for civil liberties. However, as a smaller political entity, the Free Democratic Party was often reticent to antagonize the more socially conservative factions within the larger Christian Democratic Union.

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.

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.

Annulment of convictions
In 2002, the German Government decided to overturn any convictions for homosexuality made during the Nazi period.

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. 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. On 22 March 2017, the Germany Cabinet officially approved the bill. 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. On 22 June 2017, the Bundestag (German Parliament) unanimously passed the bill to implement the scheme to rehabilitate gay and bisexual men. 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.

Compensation scheme
In September 2021, Germany implemented a compensation scheme for hundreds and possibly thousands of LGBT victims of the law criminalizing homosexual acts, which continued to apply in West Germany in its Nazi era version until 1969.

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").

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. 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. On 30 June 2017, 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. The law came into effect three months after promulgation, on 1 October 2017.

The first same-sex weddings in Germany were celebrated on 1 October 2017. Berlin couple Karl Kreile and Bodo Mende, a couple for 38 years, were the first same-sex couple to exchange their vows under the new law and did so at the town hall of Schöneberg, Berlin. In 2020, the Christian Democratic Union published a political video supporting same-sex marriage and families. In 2023, the Christian Social Union in Bavaria adopted a party platform supporting same-sex marriage. As of 2023, the Alternative for Germany remains the largest party opposed to same-sex marriage whilst being led by Alice Weidel, who herself identifies as lesbian.

Some religious groups and organisations formally bless same-sex marriages within Germany - for example all 20 lutheran, reformed and united churches in Evangelical Church in Germany, while others do not. In March 2023, it was reported that from 2026 within the Frankfurt region of Germany the Catholic church will perform same-sex blessings - that go against the policies of the Vatican. After the Synodal Path first German dioceses of Catholic Church in Germany started blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples in April 2023, for example Roman Catholic Diocese of Osnabrück or Roman Catholic Diocese of Essen.

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". The same-sex marriage law, passed in June 2017, gave same-sex couples full adoption rights. 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.

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. 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. 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".

Military and police services
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. Transgender persons may also serve openly in the German Armed Forces.

In September 2020, the German Government issued a formal apology for past anti-gay discrimination in the military. In November 2020, the German Cabinet approved legislation providing compensation to LGBT servicepeople for past discrimination and harassment. In March, 2021, the bill has been discussed in the Lower Chamber of Parliament (Bundestag), where it was supported by a majority - with some minor amendments suggested. On May 20, 2021, the bill got a supporting vote in the Bundestag.

In March 2021, it was reported that both transgender and intersex individuals can now serve openly within both the military and police in Germany.

Discrimination protections
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. The Bundestag finally passed the General Act on Equal Treatment (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.

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. Article 10(2) of the Berlin Constitution reads as follows: 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. 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.

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.

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). In November 2019, the Christian Democratic Union expressed support for the initiative.

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. In January 2011, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that these two requirements were unconstitutional.

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.

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.

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". 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".

In November 2017, the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) ruled that civil status law must allow a third gender option, meaning that intersex people would have another option besides being listed as female or male or having a blank gender entry. A government proposal on the matter was presented in August 2018. Intersex individuals would be able to register themselves as "divers" on official documents. The resulting third gender law was approved by the Bundestag in December 2018, and took effect on 1 January 2019. 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.

In August 2023, the Cabinet approved the Selbstbestimmungsgesetz (self-determination law) which the German government had proposed the previous year. Any adult—whether transgender, intersex or nonbinary—would have to give three months' notice that they are changing their first name and gender.

In April 2024, the bill passed the Parliament of Germany on gender self-determination by a vote of 374-251. The law is expected to go into effect on 1 November.

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.

In 2008, the German Government declared itself completely opposed to the pseudoscientific practice. 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. 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. 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. 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. The legislation was approved by the Bundestag on 7 May 2020 with support from all political parties except the AfD.

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. 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. 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.

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. Since summer 2017, gay and bisexual men have been allowed to donate blood following a year of abstinence from sex. Since September 2021, gay and bisexual men have been allowed to donate blood following four months of abstinence from sex.

Bone marrow donation has been allowed since December 2014.

Individual risk based assessment
In June 2021, Reuters reported that Germany plans to implement an "individual risk based assessment" (similar format to the UK, Italy and Spain) blood donations that replaces the current one-year deferral period policy since 2017. It is not clear yet on when it will go into effect. From 1 April 2023, the updated "individual risk based assessment" blood donation policy went into effect throughout Germany.

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,
 * Michael Roth,
 * Karl-Heinz Brunner,
 * Lars Castellucci,
 * Falko Droßmann,
 * Timon Gremmels
 * Kevin Kühnert
 * Dorothee Martin
 * Matthias Miersch and
 * Helga Schuchardt (from the SPD);
 * Volker Beck, Birgitt Bender, Kai Gehring, Anne Klein, Sven Lehmann, Jutta Oesterle-Schwerin, Ulle Schauws, Gerhard Schick. Anja Hajduk, Sibyll-Anka Klotz, Herbert Rusche and Wolfgang Wetzel (from The Greens);
 * Karin Binder, Achim Kessler, Matthias Höhn, Sabine Jünger, Klaus Lederer, Carsten Schatz and Harald Petzold (The Left); Alice Weidel and Kay Gottschalk (from AfD); Jens Spahn (Federal Minister of Health in the Fourth Merkel cabinet), Uwe Schummer and Stefan Kaufmann (from the CDU);
 * Bernd Fabritius (from the CSU); and Michael Kauch, Jens Brandenburg, Jörg van Essen, Heiner Garg, Konstantin Kuhle, Thomas Sattelberger and Guido Westerwelle, who served as federal Foreign Minister from 2009 to 2013 and Vice-Chancellor from 2009 to 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. 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.

Positions of political parties
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 Christian-conservative parties, the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) support it since 2020 and 2023 respectively. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is opposed to LGBT rights and opposes same-sex marriage, whilst being led by Alice Weidel, who is in favour of registered partnerships, being herself in a registered partnership with a woman.

Commissioner for queer affairs
In January 2022, the office of Commissioner for the Acceptance of Sexual and Gender Diversity in the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth was created. Parliamentary State Secretary Sven Lehmann is the first appointee.

LGBT rights movement in Germany

The first homosexual rights organization anywhere in the world was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin by Magnus Hirschfeld to campaign for the repeal of Paragraph 175. 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, two major mass organisations arose, the Bund für Menschenrecht and the Deutscher Freundschaftsverband, many further special interest groups followed, dozens of LGBQ+-journals got published in huge numbers, among them the world's first lesbian journals like Die Freundin, Garçonne, and Die BIF and the first ever transgender magazine Das 3. Geschlecht. Hundreds of gay bars and clubs created a vital LGBTQ+ landscape in Berlin. With the rise to power of the Nazi Party, officials closed the bars, censored and banned gay publications and forced all organisations of the movement do dissolve themselves. During the Nazi era, gay, lesbian and trans people were persecuted by authorities and sometimes imprisoned in concentration camps.

Right after the second world war, some LGBT+-activists tried to establish a new movement, fighting the continuation of Nazi anti-gay laws. The first homosexual publication, Amicus-Briefbund, was founded in 1948, followed by other magazines in the early 1950s. Activists in Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt founded new organisations to follow up the powerful movement of the 1920s. Internal disputes and the repressive climate of the young Federal Republic, however, prevented a development as successful as the one of the Weimar Republic, and by the end of the 1950s the movement had already failed and reached its end. It was not until the liberalization of the social and political climate in the second half of the 1960s that homophile organizations made a modest new start, but they were soon marginalized by the rise of the modern gay and lesbian movements.

The Homosexual Action West Berlin (Homosexuelle Aktion Westberlin, HAW) 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. 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. Today, Berlin Pride is among the city's largest events, attracting an estimated one million attendees in 2019. 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.

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. In 2019, the European Union Agency For Fundamental Rights conducted a survey of LGBT individuals which found that 18% identified as Protestant, 17% as Catholic and 55% as irreligious. A 2023 survey found that most religious LGBT Germans identified as Protestant.

Public opinion
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.

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.

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

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.

The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 84% of Germans thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, and 84% agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex".

title: LGBT rights in Germany


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My Favorite Things (John Coltrane album)

My Favorite Things is a studio album by the jazz musician John Coltrane. It was released in March 1961 on Atlantic Records. It was the first album to feature Coltrane playing soprano saxophone. An edited version of the title track became a hit single that gained popularity in 1961 on radio. The record became a major commercial success.

Background
In March 1960, while on tour in Europe, Miles Davis purchased a soprano saxophone for Coltrane. While the instrument had been used in the early days of jazz (notably by Sidney Bechet) it had become rare by the 1950s with the exception of Steve Lacy. Intrigued by its capabilities, Coltrane began playing it at his summer club dates.

After leaving the Davis band, Coltrane, for his first regular bookings at New York's Jazz Gallery in the summer of 1960, assembled the first version of the John Coltrane Quartet. The lineup settled by autumn with McCoy Tyner on piano, Steve Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. Sessions the week before Halloween at Atlantic Studios yielded the track "Village Blues" for Coltrane Jazz and the entirety of this album along with the tracks that Atlantic later assembled into Coltrane Plays the Blues (1962) and Coltrane's Sound (1964).

According to Lewis Porter's biography, Coltrane described "My Favorite Things" as "my favorite piece of all those I have recorded".

Music
The title track is a modal rendition of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music. The melody is heard numerous times throughout, but instead of playing solos over the written chord changes, both Tyner and Coltrane take extended solos over vamps of the two tonic chords, E minor and E major (whereas the original resolves to G major), played in waltz time. In the documentary The World According to John Coltrane, narrator Ed Wheeler remarks on the impact that this song's popularity had on Coltrane's career: "In 1960, Coltrane left Miles [Davis] and formed his own quartet to further explore modal playing, freer directions, and a growing Indian influence. They transformed "My Favorite Things", the cheerful populist song from 'The Sound of Music,' into a hypnotic eastern dervish dance. The recording was a hit and became Coltrane's most requested tune—and a bridge to broad public acceptance."

The album is also notable for Coltrane's arrangement of the George Gershwin standard "But Not for Me" which showcases the Coltrane changes technique, as heard on "Giant Steps" and "Countdown".

On March 3, 1998, Rhino Records reissued My Favorite Things as part of its Atlantic 50th Anniversary Jazz Gallery series. Included as bonus tracks were both sides of the "My Favorite Things" single, released as Atlantic 5012 in 1961.

Reception
In 1998, the album received the Grammy Hall of Fame award. It attained gold record status in 2018, having sold 500,000 copies.

In 2000 it was voted number 392 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.

Personnel

 * John Coltrane – soprano saxophone on side one and bonus tracks ; tenor saxophone on side two
 * McCoy Tyner – piano
 * Steve Davis – double bass
 * Elvin Jones – drums

Production personnel

 * Nesuhi Ertegün — production
 * Tom Dowd, Phil Iehle — engineering
 * Lee Friedlander — photography
 * Loring Eutemey — cover design
 * Bill Coss — liner notes
 * Bob Carlton, Patrick Milligan — reissue supervision
 * Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch — digital remastering
 * Rachel Gutek — reissue design
 * Hugh Brown — reissue art direction
 * Nat Hentoff — reissue liner notes
 * Steven Chean — reissue editorial supervision
 * Ted Myers, Elizabeth Pavone — reissue editorial coordination

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Talk:Central Greece (geographic region)

Untitled
Saint Thomas is village in Viotia Central Greece. From year 2001, following Kapodistria's Law is a part of Oinofyta Municipality. The sorounding of the village is magestic. If you want to see more information, please visit village's site at: http://www.agiosthomas.tk

Visit Saint Thomas
It worth a visit. The former name of the Village was Liatani.

Church of Saint Thomas
Near river Asopos there is a small Chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas aged from 12th century. This is near the ancient town of Tanagra.

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress which affects this page. Please participate at Talk:Central Greece Periphery - Requested move and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RM bot 14:21, 28 October 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Central Greece (geographic region)


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cultural festival

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was: Redirect to Festival. android↔talk 02:50, May 12, 2005 (UTC)

Cultural festival
We already have Japanese Cultural Festival and Cherry Blossom Festival as a redirect, and this article says almost nothing about its title. Gazpacho 11:14, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect to Festival (and delete the link there). Megan1967 04:53, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect. Pavel Vozenilek 12:28, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Redirect for now, but someone really needs to create a real article under this title, even if it starts as just a stub. I was going to try to "cheat" and turn the article into a list of internal wikilinks, but I found a real paucity of articles that I could have used. I guess we can chaulk this up to one more example of the systemic bias of the Wikipedia. Blank Verse   ∅   23:37, 3 May 2005 (UTC)
 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text: Template:Ranks and insignia of NATO armies/OR/Netherlands


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Nell Dunn

Nell Mary Dunn (born 9 June 1936 ) is an English playwright, screenwriter and author. She is known especially for a volume of short stories, Up the Junction, and a novel, Poor Cow.

Early years
Dunn was born in London the second daughter of Baronet Sir Philip Dunn, the son of Baronet James Hamet Dunn, she is the maternal granddaughter of the 5th Earl of Rosslyn, She was educated at a convent up to the age of 14. She and her older sister Serena were evacuated to America during the Second World War. Her parents divorced in 1944.

Her father did not believe his daughters needed qualifications. As a result, she has never passed an exam in her life. She only learnt to read at nine years old. Dunn said, "Whenever my father saw my appalling spelling, he would laugh. But it wasn't an unkind laugh. In his laugh there was the message, 'You are a completely original person, and everything you do has your own mark on it.' He wanted us all to be unique."

Despite her upper-class background, Dunn moved in 1959 to Battersea, made friends there and worked for a time in a confectionery factory. This milieu inspired much of what Dunn would later write. She attended the Courtauld Institute of Art.

Career
After her marriage to Jeremy Sandford in 1957, they gave up their smart Chelsea home and went to live in unfashionable Battersea where they joined and observed the lower strata of society. From this experience he published the play Cathy Come Home in 1963, and she wrote Up the Junction.

Dunn came to notice with the publication of Up the Junction (1963), a series of short stories set in South London, some of which had already appeared in the New Statesman. The book, awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, was a controversial success at the time for its vibrant, realistic and non-judgemental portrait of its working-class protagonists. It was adapted for television by Dunn, with Ken Loach, for The Wednesday Play series, directed by Loach and broadcast in November 1965. A cinema film version was released in 1968.

Talking to Women (1965) was a collection of interviews with nine friends, "from society heiresses to factory workers (Dunn herself was both)". The interviewees included Edna O’Brien, Pauline Boty, Ann Quin and Paddy Kitchen. Dunn's first novel, Poor Cow (1967) was made into a film in the same year, starring Carol White and Terence Stamp, under Loach's direction.

Her later books are Grandmothers (1991) and My Silver Shoes (1996). Dunn's first play Steaming was produced in 1981 and a television film Every Breath You Take in 1987. She also wrote Sisters, a film script commissioned by the BBC.

She won the 1982 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her play Steaming.

Personal life
Dunn was married to writer Jeremy Sandford from 1957 to 1979, and they had three sons. For some time the family lived on a small hill farm called Wern Watkin, outside Crickhowell in South Wales. Their farm is mentioned in a 2000 biography by their neighbour, the young Carlo Gébler, son of novelist Edna O'Brien.

She became a patron of Dignity in Dying after her partner, Dan Oestreicher, died of lung cancer.

Works

 * Up the Junction 1963
 * Poor Cow 1967
 * I Want (with Adrian Henri) 1972
 * Tear His Head Off His Shoulders 1974
 * The Only Child 1978
 * Grandmothers 1991
 * My Silver Shoes 1996
 * The Muse 2020

Plays

 * Steaming, 1981
 * Variety Night, 1982
 * The Little Heroine, 1988
 * Consequences, 1988
 * Babe XXX, 1998
 * Cancer Tales, 2003
 * Home Death 2011

Film scripts

 * Poor Cow (co-written with Ken Loach)
 * Every Breath You Take 1987
 * Sisters, 1994

title: Nell Dunn


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tony Hulman

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was keep. – Rich Farmbrough 18:24, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

Tony Hulman
A vfd tag was added in February, but it doesn't seem to have ever been put on VfD. I'm guessing the reason was non-notability. I don't have strong opinion on the deletion of this, but wanted to list it here anyway since someone else obviously thought it should be here. Angela. 11:20, Apr 26, 2005 (UTC)

 * Keep Hulman appears to be a significant figure in the sport - article needs lots of work though. Andypasto 11:56, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep — Tony is a International Motorsports Hall of Fame member. But article is almost entirely about his grandson. Page needs a stub tag. — RJH 15:22, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and cleanup. Both Tonys are among the most notable racetrack owners, and the grandson has been a very significant organizing figure in race sanctioning.  Article as it stands is highly POV against Hulman.  Barno 15:49, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and cleanup as notable figure in motor-sportCapitalistroadster 01:17, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
Aileen Raymond

Aileen Cynthia Raymond (23 November 1910 – 28 April 2005) was an English television and stage actress.

She was born on the Isle of Wight in 1910. She appeared occasionally on British television.

Raymond married three times; to actor John Mills (1932–1941), to advertising executive Francis Ogilvy (1941–1963), by whom she had two children, one of whom is the actor Ian Ogilvy, and to Charles Buck.

Raymond died in Kensington and Chelsea, London, aged 94. She died five days after her first husband, John Mills.

title: Aileen Raymond


text:
Talk:Tatton

I think the convention is to name this page "Tatton (constituency)" - I avoided that to save moving the page and because there is no place called "Tatton", so there would need to be a redirect anyway. If anybody whants to move the page feel free, bot don't forget to update the links...Andreww 11:22, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Addiewell
I don't see how Addiewell and New Addiewell relate to this, so I removed them. If anyone can find links for me, I'll willingly reinstate it. Chris Tatton is also not a notable character as far as I can see on Google, so per Addiewell and New Addiewell, I'll reinstate it if you can show evidence of how they are related. Just for your information, "Chris Tatton New Addiewell" got 6 links, which is hardly notable. -- Ouishoebean / (talk) 14:12, 16 Nov 2006 (UTC)

title: Talk:Tatton


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Oinofyta

Oinofyta (Greek: Οινόφυτα) is a village and former municipality in eastern Boeotia, Greece. Following the local government reform of 2011, it is now part of the municipality of Tanagra, of which it is a municipal unit. It was formerly named Staniates (Στανιάτες) until 1927. Within the territory of the municipal unit lies the ancient town of Oenophyta, where the Battle of Oenophyta was fought in 457 BCE.

Subdivisions
The municipal unit of Oinofyta is subdivided into the following communities:
 * Agios Thomas
 * Kleidi
 * Oinofyta

In 2014 the village Dilesi was separated from the municipal unit of Oinofyta and made into a new municipal unit.

Historical population
Oinofyta has historically been an Arvanite settlement.

Pollution
In December 2007, official tests revealed that drinking water in Oinofyta was contaminated with high levels of the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, which is used as an anti-corrosive in the production of stainless steel, paint, ink, plastics and dyes. For decades, factories had been dumping waste in the Asopos River, whose waters run from red to black and ripple with bubbling sludge.

Peaple
Archbishop Ieronymos II was born in the settlement.

Transport
The village is served by the Oinofyta railway station on the edge of the village with Proastiakos trains to Athens and Chalcis.

Sport

 * G.S. Oinophyta Olympiad, football
 * G.S. Oinophyton, basketball

title: Oinofyta


text:
Truro, South Australia

Truro (postcode 5356, altitude 311m) is a town in South Australia, 80 km northeast of Adelaide. It is situated in an agricultural and pastoral district on the Sturt Highway, east of the Barossa Valley, where the highway crosses somewhat lofty and rugged parts of the Mount Lofty Ranges. At the, Truro had a population of 523. Truro is in the Mid Murray Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Schubert and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Barker.

History
The town was established on Truro Creek (White Hut Creek) in 1848 by John Howard Angas, the son of George Fife Angas who had bought the land in 1842. The survey was conducted by Thomas Burr, assisted by his (eventual) son in law Frederick Sinnett, during a period when both were freed from their usual commitments in order to pursue private contracts.

It is named after the city of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is somewhat uncertain whether the name Truro was given by Angas, or the first settlers in the town, but with the Wheal Barton mine nearby, many of those settlers were Cornish miners, so it is quite likely that if they were not the namers of the town, they were certainly the inspiration thereof. The township of Barton was also nearby, however that soon became a part of Truro.

It was formerly the seat of its own municipality, the District Council of Truro, from 1876 to 1991.

Heritage listings
Truro has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

 * Baldon Road: Baldon Homestead Complex
 * 37 Moorundie Street: Former Truro Police Station and Cells
 * off Sturt Highway: Stone Wall
 * off Sturt Highway: Accommodation Hill Spring and Pipeline Relics

Industry
The first industry that European settlers introduced to Truro district, from the early 1840s, was pastoralism, primarily the grazing of sheep flocks, watched over by shepherds, on unfenced occupation licenses. Many of the picturesque dry stone walls so prevalent in the district date from this era.

Copper was discovered in 1846 and was mined at the Wheal Barton mine 2 km east of Truro from 1849 to 1889 and again between 1956 and 1972. These copper mines are what led to the survey and establishment of the town. The mine was established in 1849, and a church erected in the township by August 1850.

Truro was the terminus of the Truro railway line from its opening in 1917 until it ceased operating in the 1970s and was permanently closed in the 1980s.

Rainfall in Truro is lower than in the neighbouring Barossa Valley region. For this reason dry grain crop farming, mainly of wheat and barley, is more prevalent than viticulture.

There are two hotels in Truro. Truro also has several tourism offerings, in the form of the Pioneer Park, a specialist olive shop and several antique shops. The town also has service facilities for tourists and travellers along the Sturt Highway.

Truro murders
During the 1970s the town of Truro gained notoriety due to human remains being found scattered among nondescript Mallee scrub upon the arid Murray Plains near Sandleton. This became widely known as the Truro murders, one of the notable occurrences of serial killing in Australian history. Those human remains were actually found many tens of kilometres away from Truro but, despite these tragic crimes being unrelated to the Truro township, the broadcast media found 'Truro' to be a convenient label for them through being the nearest town recognizable to the public.

title: Truro, South Australia


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Exclubiz

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 00:01, 12 May 2005 (UTC)

Exclubiz
Blatant ad, placed by User:Exclubiz. On the positive side, he forgot the obligatory external link, and didn't include the image he uploaded. —Korath (Talk) 11:25, Apr 26, 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete spam. Samaritan 17:54, 26 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable, advert. Megan1967 04:54, 27 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
User talk:Ariel Sokolovsky

License tagging for Image:Atzmus.pdf
Thanks for uploading Image:Atzmus.pdf. You don't seem to have indicated the license status of the image. Wikipedia uses a set of image copyright tags to indicate this information; to add a tag to the image, select the appropriate tag from this list, click on this link, then click "Edit this page" and add the tag to the image's description. If there doesn't seem to be a suitable tag, the image is probably not appropriate for use on Wikipedia.

For help in choosing the correct tag, or for any other questions, leave a message on Media copyright questions. Thank you for your cooperation. --ImageTaggingBot (talk) 22:06, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

Judaism
Are you at all bothered by the liberal bias on Wikipedia that obstructs generalizations like "Jews say..." or "Judaism feels..." and puts in their place "Orthodox Judaism feels..."?  DRosenbach  ( Talk 02:07, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Judaism Newsletter
This newsletter was automatically delivered by ShepBot because you are a member of the WikiProject. If you would like to opt out of future mailings, please remove your name from this list. Delivered by §hepBot  ( Disable )  on 04:21, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Judaism Newsletter
This newsletter was automatically delivered because you are a member of one or more Judaism related WikiProjects. If you would like to opt out of future mailings, please remove your name from this list.

 * Newsletter delivery by xenobot  02:05, 3 August 2008 (UTC)

The Judaism Newsletter
This newsletter was automatically delivered because you are a member of one or more Judaism related WikiProjects. If you would like to opt out of future mailings, please remove your name from this list. As always, please direct all questions, comments, requests, barnstars, offers of help, and angry all-caps anti-semitic rants to my talk page. Thanks, and have a great month. L'Aquatique [ approves | this | message  ] 20:31, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

 * Newsletter delivery by xenobot  20:54, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Josephus descendants
Dear Rabi Ariel Sokolovsky. I decided to contribute in Josephus article, by adding information about a certain family that has a long-estabilish and recognized claim of being descendants of Josephus.Can you give me your opinion on the discussion page of WikiProject Judaism page? I appreciate your help. Here is my opinion - The reliable sources are valid or not? If yes, the information must be added in the article. This article is about Josephus, and we see plenty famous authors and rabbies stating about this family that keept the tradition and claim for so many centuries. I see individuals there figthing to shut the voice of famous Jewish authors in the past, just because they dont like their materialThanks --Chris Cohen (talk) 02:55, 11 April 2009 (UTC) (Mashiah Cohen)

Chabad on Wikipedia arbitration request
There is a recently-filed request for arbitration that mentions you as a concerned party. Please review the request at Requests for arbitration and, if you wish to do so, enter your statement and any other material you wish to submit to the Arbitration Committee. Additionally, the following resources may be of use—
 * Requests for arbitration;
 * Arbitration guide.

Thanks, IZAK (talk) 02:15, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

title: User talk:Ariel Sokolovsky


text:
Sega Worldwide Soccer 97

Sega Worldwide Soccer 97 (known as both Sega Worldwide Soccer PC and Victory Goal Worldwide Edition in Japan) is a football video game by Sega released for the Sega Saturn in 1996. It was followed by three more titles: Sega Worldwide Soccer '98 still on the Saturn and two editions of Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000, the second being Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000 Euro Edition for the Dreamcast.

Sega Worldwide Soccer 97, produced by Sega themselves, was one of the Saturn's killer apps in the peak of popularity for the console. It was the sequel to Victory Goal, one of the debut titles of the console, which had a poor performance critically and commercially. However, there was little overlap in the development staff of the two games.

The game featured international teams and league, play-off and tournament modes. Although it used fictional player names (due to the lack of a license), the non-volatile memory of the Saturn allowed editing of names. The team kits were as close to the official 1996 kits as possible. The gameplay was also highly praised, and was the top-rated football game until International Superstar Soccer 64 was released one year later. The game was ported to Microsoft Windows, with this version being released in Japan only on September 25, 1997.

Gameplay
In exhibition mode, the player(s) compete in a single match. In tournament mode, they go through an entire tournament, and in championship mode, they battle for the title of league champions.

The game includes a create-a-player feature.

Reception
The original Saturn release was met with critical acclaim. Tom Hall of GameSpot said it "may be the best soccer game ever released"; GamePro called it "a completely fresh, must-play gaming experience"; Rob Alsetter wrote in Sega Saturn Magazine that it was "perhaps the best soccer sim yet"; and Next Generation's review concluded, "Quite simply, WWS '97 is the best recreation of any sport, ever." Common subjects of praise were the smoothness of the player animations, the easy-to-learn controls,  the realistic soccer elements,  and the way the game encourages players to be spontaneous and creative.

Though Electronic Gaming Monthly never reviewed the game, less than a year after its release they rated the Saturn version the 74th best console video game of all time, saying that it "set the standard for all other soccer games to follow. As such, it is considered to be the 'Madden' or 'NHL' of soccer." They cited the player animations, intelligent AI, realistic passing, and graphics.

title: Sega Worldwide Soccer 97


text:
LGBT rights in Bulgaria

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bulgaria face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex relationships are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015. In July 2019, a Bulgarian court recognized a same-sex marriage performed in France in a landmark ruling. For 2020, Bulgaria was ranked 37 of 49 European countries for LGBT rights protection by ILGA-Europe. Like most countries in Central and Eastern Europe, post-Communist Bulgaria holds socially conservative attitudes when it comes to such matters as homosexuality and transgender people.

Before the Liberation
Homosexuality was legalized in 1858 in all parts of the Ottoman Empire. After the Liberation of Bulgaria, however, homosexuality was recriminalized with the adoption of a new constitution in 1879.

1878–1968
Following the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, the country's Penal Code came into force on 1 May 1896, and homosexual acts between males over 16 years of age became punishable by at least six months of imprisonment. The Penal Code of 13 March 1951 increased the penalty to up to three years in jail. The revised Penal Code of 1 May 1968 removed the sections outlawing homosexual acts.

July 1964 trial
In July 1964, 26 men were arrested and accused of having "perverted homosexual relationships". Some of the arrested were the famous actor Georgi Partsalev and one of the most loved Bulgarian singers, Emil Dimitrov. Experts say that the process was a masquerade for the public so that "people will understand how decadent the Western culture is". In the 1960s, there were a couple of other similar cases which again involved some of Bulgaria's elite. Later in 1966, when revising the Penal Code, a group of "experts" decided that homosexual acts would no longer be considered a crime because lesbians and gays "are ill people, who shouldn't be punished because of the sufferings they are already going through (due to their illness)". On 1 May 1968, the Penal Code was revised, and homosexuality became legal.

Since 2002, the age of consent has been 14, regardless of the sexes of the consenting parties.

Recognition of same-sex relationships
In September 2023, the European court of human rights says that Bulgaria not recognising same-sex couples is an "infringement of human rights". This case is subject to appeals and awaiting a government response. Since 1991, Article 46 of the Bulgarian Constitution has defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, therefore explicitly banning same-sex marriage. The Constitution does not ban civil unions or other forms of relationship recognition.

In 2012, on the question if same-sex couples will soon have further rights like the right to marry or adopt children, now-former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said: "for something [like this] to happen, society needs to become ready for it." There have been several debates on whether to recognise civil unions or registered partnerships, which would grant same-sex couples some of the rights and benefits of marriage, including the right to inherit, to make medical decisions, to own property together; all of which are currently denied to same-sex couples.

In 2017, a Bulgarian same-sex couple, who married in the United Kingdom, filed a lawsuit in order to have their marriage recognised. The Sofia Administrative Court rejected their case in January 2018. However, lawyers from the Bulgarian LGBT organisation Deystvie (Действие) appealed against this decision. Deystvie has begun public collecting signatures in favor of their appeal.

Citing Coman and Others v General Inspectorate for Immigration and Ministry of the Interior, a case originating from Romania in which the European Court of Justice ruled that same-sex couples must be granted full residency rights in all EU countries, a Sofia court granted a same-sex couple the right to live in Bulgaria on 29 June 2018. The couple, an Australian woman and her French wife, had married in France in 2016, but were denied residency in Bulgaria a year later when they attempted to move there.

Adoption and parenting
Same-sex couples are banned from adopting in Bulgaria. However, single individuals regardless of sexual orientation are allowed to adopt, though requests from single men are rarely accepted. Lesbian couples do not have access to IVF and artificial insemination, as it is only available to married opposite-sex couples. Nevertheless, since 2004, single lesbian women have had access to IVF.

In 2021 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) heard a case involving a baby born to a lesbian couple (one Bulgarian and the other a British citizen) in Spain. The baby was not entitled to either British or Spanish citizenship so the couple applied for Bulgarian citizenship for their child. Because the Bulgarian authorities refused to issue a birth certificate, the child was denied the benefits of European citizenship, became stateless, and has not been able to leave Spain. In December 2021, the ECJ ruled against Bulgaria in the case, finding that the country had to issue an ID card based on the parentage established by Spain so that the child could exercise her right to European citizenship.

Discrimination protections
Since 1 January 2004, the Protection Against Discrimination Act of 2003 (Закон за защита от дискриминация) has prohibited discrimination and hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation in all areas (employment, the provision of goods and services, education, military service, health services, etc.). Under the law, sexual orientation is defined as "heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual orientation".

In 2015, the National Assembly amended the definition of "sex" in the law to include cases of gender change. Transgender people who have not undergone a legal gender change could use "gender" from the list of protected grounds. Gender expression and gender identity are not explicitly mentioned in the revised Act.

Hate crimes
Hate crimes against LGBT people are not uncommon in Bulgaria, and are often ignored and go uninvestigated by authorities. In 2008, a 25-year-old student was brutally killed in a park in Sofia because he was perceived to be gay. During the investigation, a man testified that the two suspects were part of a group intending to "cleanse" the park of gays. On 27 September 2020, children as young as 14 or 15 were assaulted in Plovdiv, as part of an anti-LGBT "cleansing action" apparently done by ultra fans of Botev.

In January 2014, the Government committed itself to outlaw hate crimes against LGBT people. However, following parliamentary elections in October 2014, the newly established Government has been silent on the issue. As of 2020, Bulgaria's Penal Code still does not protect LGBT people from hate crimes.

On 28 July 2023, the National Assembly adopted a Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code, which provides for heavier penalties for crimes committed on the basis of the victim's sexual orientation.

Gender identity and expression
The Bulgarian Personal Documents Act (Закон за българските лични документи), which came into effect on 1 April 1999, was the first law in Bulgaria regulating sex changes, it however has seen been overruled by the Supreme Court of Cassation. There is no official data on the number of Bulgarians who have legally changed their gender. When a person undergoes sex reassignment surgery, they were able to change their passport, driver's license, personal identity document, birth certificate and uniform civil number to match their new sex. In 2016, however, three transgender women were allowed to change gender without undergoing surgery.

A 2015 Eurobarometer survey found that 29% of Bulgarians agreed with the statement that transgender people should be able to change their civil documents in order to match their actual gender identity.

After the Constitutional Court's verdict on the Istanbul Convention, in which the court condemned attempts to introduce legislation for legal gender recognition, a transgender woman's application to change gender was rejected by a regional court.

An interpretative decision published by the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation on 20 February 2023 states that "the only meaning of the term sex should be its biological one", and that "the [Bulgarian] Constitution and the entire legal system are based on the binary existence of humankind", thus effectively prohibiting the change of legal gender on a biological basis. (lit. translation)

Intersex rights
There is no data of the number of intersex babies born in the country. The standard procedure in a case of an intersex child birth is the removal of the male genitalia due to the fact that it is an easier operation than the one removing the female genitalia. The parents are rarely informed of the damages this could later cause to the child's gender identity. There are no laws concerning intersex people.

Military service
Bulgaria's Protection Against Discrimination Act of 2003 protects individuals from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in relation to recruitment to the military.

Blood donation
Gay and bisexual men are not explicitly banned from donating blood in Bulgaria. However, the blood donor application form, required prior to any blood donation, does not ask the applicant to disclose that information, rather requires them to confirm that they did not partake in practices (sexual included) that increase the risk of HIV or other STIs. The consent form is detailed in an ordinance issued by Bulgaria's Ministry of Healthcare on 19 July 2004.

Party positions on potential same-sex marriage/partnership law
Support for same-sex marriage legislation on a political level is limited to positions of individual party members (in parties who support partially the LGBTQ rights).

In light of the elections for the 47th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria on 14 November 2021, the Organizational Committee of Sofia Pride analyzed the election platforms of all major parties' running candidates for MPs. In the Committee's words, 'LGBTQ+ people continue to be unrepresented in the party headquarters' visions and ideas for the country'.

Public opinion
A 2002 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey recorded that 63% of Bulgarians were "openly homophobic" and against LGBT people, and the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey recorded that acceptance of the LGBT community had risen to 39%.

A 2006 European Union poll showed that 15% of Bulgarians supported same-sex marriage, with 65% opposed to it. In 2015, those numbers remained almost the same, with 17% supporting same-sex marriage and 68% being opposed.

According to a survey in 2007 by Skala, a sociological agency, 42.4% of Bulgarians would not like having a homosexual friend or colleague. 46% answered that it would be unacceptable if their own child was gay or lesbian. A Eurobarometer survey from 2015 showed that 9% of Bulgarian parents would accept their child being in a same-sex relationship.

According to a 2008 survey, conducted in 15 schools throughout Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv, 10.5% of students identified as bisexual, whereas 1.8% identified as gay and 87.7% as straight. Of these students, 15% said they would not want a gay friend and 29% said they would categorically refuse to sit next to a gay classmate. 5% said they would bully gay classmates, while 39% said they would protect them from bullying.

A survey from 2012 showed the number of people who would not like having a homosexual colleague had dropped to 38%. The survey also showed that Bulgarians were more tolerant toward lesbians than gay men. 26% of the respondents would not hire a lesbian.

A Pew Research Center published in May 2017 suggested that 18% of Bulgarians were in favor of same-sex marriage, while 79% opposed it. Support was higher among Orthodox Christians (19%) and 18–34 year olds (26%), in contrast to Muslims (12%) and people aged 35 and over (15%). While just 27% believe there is nothing wrong with same-sex relationships, a 2015 Eurobarometer survey reported that 51% supported equal rights.

A GLOBSEC survey conducted in March 2023 showed that 21% of Bulgarians supported same-sex marriage, while 69% were opposed.

The 2023 Eurobarometer found that 17% of Bulgarians thought same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, and 21% agreed that "there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex".

Living conditions
Most of gay life in Bulgaria is primarily set in Sofia. There are gay establishments in Plovdiv, Varna and Blagoevgrad. Outside of the big cities, the subject is a taboo and rarely welcomed or admitted to be relevant or real. As this is still a highly controversial subject in Bulgaria, accurate data cannot be obtained due to the unwillingness of some or most persons who identify as LGBT to freely affirm themselves as such out of fear of public persecution, scrutiny or harassment.

In December 2018, billboards promoting tolerance towards same-sex couples, put up in various Bulgarian cities such as Varna and Burgas, were vandalised.

During the 2020–2021 Bulgarian protests, there was a rise in anti-LGBT rhetoric and discrimination, as right-wing and far-right groups and organizations attempted to put the topic of gender (through the anti-LGBT trope of gender ideology) at the forefront over the COVID-19 pandemic in Bulgaria and the protests themselves. Gender became a slur for non-binary people or any person perceived to be LGBT. Nonetheless, acceptance of LGBT people among the more educated, middle-class Bulgarians has increased, as the efforts of LGBT-rights organizations were paying off, such as the biggest LGBT pride in the country's history, the first LGBT exhibition (the Balkan Pride) outside Sofia, and the recognition of a same-sex marriage between an Australian and French citizen in a Bulgarian court.

Pride parades
The only pride parade to take place so far in Bulgaria is Sofia Pride. The first parade took place in 2008 and drew about 150 participants, who were attacked with petrol bombs, rocks and glass bottles. More than 60 hooligans were arrested. The pride parades in the following years went on peacefully and started drawing more participants as well as the support of political parties, local businesses and embassies. In 2017, the parade was attended by more than 3,000 participants and was supported by 18 diplomatic missions. The pride week also included a film program and an art festival. In 2019, around 6,000 attendees marched in the gay pride parade. It was supported by 25 diplomats and representatives of international organizations and foundations.

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church strongly opposes freedom of assembly for LGBT people and any form of manifestation like pride parades, calling them a "sinful demonstration" and the "sin of sodomy". Before the 2012 Sofia Pride, a priest from Sliven said in a newspaper interview that "gays should be beaten with stones". National Resistance, a far-right group, has advocated using brooms and shovels to attack people at pride parades.

Parties such as the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Greens, Bulgarian Left and DSB have supported the parade organizers' right to hold the pride parade. However, in 2014, only the Greens and Bulgarian Left sent statements of support to the parade. Georgi Kadiev, the former Bulgarian Socialist Party mayoral candidate for Sofia, participated in support of the pride parade in 2011. Some parties, such as the far-right nationalist Ataka party, strongly oppose the pride parades, protesting against them, as well as homosexuality more broadly.

LGBT rights organizations
There are several LGBT organizations in Bulgaria:
 * Bilitis Resource Center (Bulgarian: Ресурсен център Билитис). Founded in 2004 by the activist Monika Pisankaneva, it protects the rights of lesbians, bisexual women and transgender people. Bilitis has projects around the country.
 * LGBT Deystvie (Bulgarian: ЛГБТ Действие). It was founded in 2010 and protects the rights of LGBT people in the country. It is based in Sofia.
 * GLAS Foundation (Bulgarian: Фондация ГЛАС).
 * Single Step Foundation (Bulgarian: Сингъл Степ). Founded in 2016, Single Step's mission is to help LGBTI youth, their families, friends and allies in Bulgaria in the process of recognizing, coming out and affirming their sexual orientation and gender identity. It launched the first licensed online support chat in the country in October 2017.
 * LGBT Plovdiv (Bulgarian: ЛГБТ Пловдив). A small LGBT organization based in Plovdiv and the region.

Pazardzhik case
In November 2009, the District Council of Pazardzhik voted in favor of an amendment forbidding the "public demonstration of sexual or any other orientation." LGBT organizations attacked the decision of the council, arguing it was discriminatory. In October 2010, the district's Administrative Court struck down the resolution, citing procedural errors in its passing. The court's decision was affirmed on appeal by the Supreme Administrative Court in July 2011.

title: LGBT rights in Bulgaria


text:
Brough Motorcycles

Brough Motorcycles were made by William E. Brough in Nottingham, England, from 1902 to 1926, after some earlier experimentation with motorised tricycles. The Brough Superior company was a separate company created by his son, George Brough.

Models up to end of WWI (up to 1918)
The first Brough motorcycle was built in 1902, and had a single cylinder engine hung from the downtube. By 1908 there were a range of models with 2.5 hp and 3.5 hp single cylinder and 5 hp V-twin engines (all made by Brough). By 1912 there was a 6 hp V-twin, and an 8 hp engine was also made intended for use in the Brough light car.

In 1913 William Brough developed a flat-twin engine in-line with the frame. This 497cc engine had overhead valves, 70mm bore and 64.5mm stroke, and had a magneto fitted above and a 2-speed gearbox below. By the end of 1914 it had replaced all other engines in the Brough range, and using it only 3-models were planned for 1915. The three models were the HS - which was fitted with a two-speed countershaft gear operated by dog clutches, with chain drive to the gearbox, and John Bull rubber belt drive to the rear wheel over an adjustable pulley allowing the top gear range to be varied. No clutch or kick-start was provided. The second model was the HB, which was fitted with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub gearbox and handle starter. The third model was the HTT, which was very similar to the HS but fitted with a specially tuned engine with high-compression, lightweight steel pistons, different camshafts, and special front cylinder lubrication.

During the war Brough introduced a larger flat-twin of 6 hp rating, with 70mm bore and 90mm stroke (692cc), it shared a lot in common with the earlier 6 hp V-twin.

Post-War
At the end of 1918, George Brough had been developing his own ideas on the design of his father’s flat twin engine. A new 500cc job .The engine had detachable heads with the valve seats integral and the rockers 'enclosed in neat aluminium cases'. Light aluminium pistons, roller bearing crankshaft, and two ball bearing mounted camshafts.This was bench tested at 14 bhp at 4200rpm, and could go to 5600rpm.George Brough guaranteed it to the sum of £100. George Brough had been a partner in his father's company. He split from it in 1919,(father William objected to the costs of the new 500cc engine George had been testing, it was all about cost ) and started his own factory on Hadyn Road in Nottingham.The first Brough Superiors were made in the garage of Stockhill Lodge ,on Nuttall Road. Stockhill House was where his father then lived. He named his motorcycles "Brough Superior".

2/2/1919   A friend & drinking crony of George, called 'Bob' Blay purchased a W E Brough. Registration Al 4659 Georges first 90 Bore prototype HP 2122 was made mid 1919. George Brough and Bob Blay propped up the bar in a pub. George after a few beers is saying he really does not know what to call his new machine. Bob, who has recently acquired a W E Brough, chips in, ” I 've got one of your fathers Brough machines and yours is better than that, why not 'Brough Superior'. Robert Blay is also later recorded as the first owner of a Nottingham 1922 Mark I side-valve machine, registration AU 5708

Upon hearing the name of the new motorcycle company, his father was reputed to have  made the comment, "I suppose that makes mine the Brough Inferior".

The two sizes of Brough flat-twin engine were still in production in 1922 when Brough announced a modified version with roller cam followers, light aluminium pistons, removable valve seats, and the engine base extended to mount the three-speed Sturmey-Archer gearbox. William Brough continued to produce motorcycles under the original "Brough" marque until 1926.

title: Brough Motorcycles


text:
Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n

Wilk v. American Medical Association, 895 F.2d 352 (7th Cir. 1990), was a federal antitrust suit brought against the American Medical Association (AMA) and 10 co-defendants by chiropractor Chester A. Wilk, DC, and four co-plaintiffs. It resulted in a ruling against the AMA.

Pre-trial environment
Until 1983, the AMA held that it was unethical for medical doctors to associate with an "unscientific practitioner," and labeled chiropractic "an unscientific cult."

Before 1980, Principle 3 of the AMA Principles of medical ethics stated: "A physician should practice a method of healing founded on a scientific basis; and he should not voluntarily professionally associate with anyone who violates this principle." In 1980 during a major revision of ethical rules (while the Wilk litigation was in progress), it replaced Principle 3, stating that a physician "shall be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical services." Also, up until 1974, the AMA had a Committee on quackery which challenged what it considered to be unscientific forms of healing. Wilk argued that this committee was established specifically to undermine chiropractic.

The first trial
In 1976, Chester Wilk and four other chiropractors sued the AMA, several nationwide healthcare associations, and several physicians for violations of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The plaintiffs lost at the first trial in 1981, then obtained a new trial on appeal in 1983 because of improper jury instructions and admission of irrelevant and prejudicial evidence (Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n,735 F.2d 217, 7th Cir. 1983).

The second trial
In the second trial case the AMA had the burden of proof, needing to establish the validity of the boycott. The court recognized a "patient care defense," but imposed a difficult burden. The defendants had to show their concern could not have been adequately satisfied in a manner less restrictive of competition. So Wilk and later cases greatly limit the use of "quality of care" defense in boycott cases.

Just before the second trial, the plaintiffs dropped their demand for damages and sought only an injunction. Therefore, the resulting trial in May and June 1987 was a bench trial in which Judge Susan Getzendanner personally heard the evidence and made factual findings.

Judge's findings in the second trial
On September 25, 1987, Getzendanner issued her opinion that the AMA had violated Section 1, but not 2, of the Sherman Act, and that it had engaged in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade "to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession." (Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n, 671 F. Supp. 1465, N.D. Ill. 1987). She further stated that the "AMA had entered into a long history of illegal behavior". She then issued a permanent injunction against the AMA under Section 16 of the Clayton Act to prevent such future behavior. However, she exonerated the two other remaining defendants, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals and the American College of Physicians, and dismissed them from the case.

Judge Getzendanner also went out of her way to make clear what she was not doing:

"The plaintiffs clearly want more from the court. They want a judicial pronouncement that chiropractic is a valid, efficacious, even scientific health care service. I believe that the answer to that question can only be provided by a well designed, controlled, scientific study... No such study has ever been done. In the absence of such a study, the court is left to decide the issue on the basis of largely anecdotal evidence. I decline to pronounce chiropractic valid or invalid on anecdotal evidence."

However, Judge Getzendanner went on:

"The plaintiffs, however, point out that the anecdotal evidence in the record favors chiropractors. The patients who testified were helped by chiropractors and not by medical physicians. Per Freitag, a medical physician who associates with chiropractors, has observed that patients in one hospital who receive chiropractic treatment are released sooner than patients in another hospital in which he is on staff which does not allow chiropractors. John McMillan Mennell testified in favor of chiropractic. Even the defendants' economic witness, Mr. Lynk, assumed that chiropractors outperformed medical physicians in the treatment of certain conditions and he believed that was a reasonable assumption.

The defendants have offered some evidence as to the unscientific nature of chiropractic. The study of how the five original named plaintiffs diagnosed and actually treated patients with common symptoms was particularly impressive. This study demonstrated that the plaintiffs do not use common methods in treating common symptoms and that the treatment of patients appears to be undertaken on an ad hoc rather than on a scientific basis. And there was evidence of the use of cranial adjustments to cure cerebral palsy and other equally alarming practices by some chiropractors.

I do not minimize the negative evidence. But most of the defense witnesses, surprisingly, appeared to be testifying for the plaintiffs. Taking into account all of the evidence, I conclude only that the AMA has failed to meet its burden on the issue of whether its concern for the scientific method in support of the boycott of the entire chiropractic profession was objectively reasonable throughout the entire period of the boycott. This finding is not and should not be construed as a judicial endorsement of chiropractic.

The next element of the patient care defense is whether the AMA's concern about scientific method has been the dominant motivating factor in the defendants' promulgation of Principle 3 in the conduct undertaken and intended to implement Principle 3. The AMA has carried its burden on this issue. While there is some evidence that the Committee on Quackery and the AMA were motivated by economic concerns – there are too many references in the record to chiropractors as competitors to ignore – I am persuaded that the dominant factor was patient care and the AMA's subjective belief that chiropractic was not in the best interests of patients."

She concluded that the AMA had been too restrictive in its campaign:

"The final question is whether this concern for scientific method in patient care could have been adequately satisfied in a manner less restrictive of competition. It would be a difficult task to persuade a court that a boycott and conspiracy designed to contain and eliminate a profession that was licensed in all fifty states at the time the Committee on Quackery disbanded was the only way to satisfy the AMA's concern for the use of scientific method in patient care. The AMA presented no evidence that a public education approach or any other less restrictive approach was beyond the ability or resources of the AMA or had been tried and failed. The AMA obviously was not successful in defeating the licensing of chiropractic on a state by state basis, but that failure does not mean that they had to resort to the highly restrictive means of the boycott. The AMA and other medical societies have managed to change America's health-related conduct by what appears to be good public relations work and there has been no proof that a similar campaign would not have been at least as effective as the boycott in educating consumers about chiropractic and the AMA's concern for scientific method.

Based on these findings, I conclude that the AMA has failed to carry its burden of persuasion on the patient care defense."

Following the second trial
Both sides cross-appealed, and the district court's decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals on February 7, 1990 (Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n,895 F.2d 352, 7th Cir. 1990). The AMA petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court three times, but each time the Court denied certiorari (on June 11, August 13, and November 26, 1990).

The AMA eliminated Principle 3 in 1980 during a major revision of ethical rules (while the Wilk litigation was in progress). Its replacement stated that a physician "shall be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical services." Thus, the AMA now permits medical doctors to refer patients to doctors of chiropractic for such manipulative therapy if the medical doctor believes it is in the best interests of the patients.

title: Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n