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In Germany, the infamous §175a StGB that made gay sex illegal was only finally removed in 1994. I think it was practically ignored for some time before that, bu
by krylon 8y ago
In Germany, the infamous §175a StGB that made gay sex illegal was only finally removed in 1994. I think it was practically ignored for some time before that, but that was only 24 years ago.
And yes, it feels just as unreal to me.
- simias 8y agoI thought we had a similar law in France until the 1980's but apparently I was at least partly mistaken: >Although same-sex sexual activity was a capital crime that often resulted in the death penalty during the Ancien Régime, all sodomy laws were repealed in 1791 during the French Revolution. However, a lesser known indecent exposure law that often targeted homosexuals was introduced in 1960 before being repealed twenty years later. So vive la révolution I guess.
- etiennemarcel 8y agoIn 81 homosexuality was taken off the mental illnesses list, that's probably what you're thinking of.
- simias 8y agoAh that's probably it, thank you.
- blattimwind 8y agoThat's not entirely accurate, because the 175 was changed quite a lot over time. Initially it was jail-for-sex, but then in the late 60s it was changed such that basically the age of consent for gays was 21 (IIRC a notable exception was that if _both_ partners were below 18 then it wasn't punishable anyway -- so only if one was younger than 18 and the other 18-21 it was punishable, which is very weird indeed). Then there was another reform which made it so that >18 having gay sex with <18 was illegal. And then, finally, with the abolishment of 175 in 94 everyone got the same age of consent.
- krylon 8y agoThanks for the clarification!
- bildung 8y agoJust a note: In the former GDR it was legal since its inception in 1949. It was only illegal in West Germany.