Highlights
Our campaigns are proof that love wins. Here are some of our greatest victories (so far!).
Changing the German Constitution to include protections for LGBT+ people
When the German Constitution came into force in 1949, it was shaped by the lessons learned from the horrific crimes of Nazism. Therefore, the prohibition of discrimination is anchored at the beginning, in Article 3, Paragraph 3
"No one shall be discriminated against or given preference on the grounds of sex, descent, race, language, country of origin, creed, religious or political beliefs. No one shall be discriminated against because of his or her disability."
Yet despite their systematic persecution under the Nazi dictatorship, queer people found no mention
This made it possible that even after the end of National Socialism:
- lesbian women had to fear losing their children in divorce proceedings until the 1980s,
- tens of thousands of gay and bisexual men were criminalized under Paragraph 175,
- more than 10,000 people had to undergo forced sterilization under the still existing "Transsexuals Act" until 2011,
- unscientific "homo-healing" of adults is still legal,
- and to this day, two-mother families and parents with diverse gender identities have to undergo "stepchild adoption" to be recognized as parents of their own children.
To this day, LGBT+ people remain excluded from protection against discrimination in Germany which is enshrined in the constitution.
PETITION
That’s why All Out, in cooperation with the initiative A Constitution for Everyone (“Grundgesetz für Alle"), jumped into action, launching a petition in 2021 calling for the party leaders in German Parliament to amend Article 3 of the Constitution to protect all members of the queer community from discrimination.
We are making a lot of noise about it, and we already have the support of several German personalities. Here you can check the list of celebrities who have signed the “A Constitution for Everyone” initiative (in German).
E-MAILS TO MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
But this is not all! To really dial up the pressure, we developed a mailing service that enabled citizens to write a message directly to their representative in the federal government.
PROJECTION AT THE FEDERAL CHANCELLERY
Moreover, we wanted to really make sure that our voices were heard.
So we projected a huge message onto the German Federal Chancellery building, in downtown Berlin.
And on May 28, 2021, together with Grundgesetz für Alle, we met with the heads of parliamentary groups of five major parties in Germany to deliver more than 80,000 signatures demanding the amendment of the constitution.
Check out the video of this emblematic moment in the history of LGBT+ people in Germany.
SPEAK OUTS & PRIDES
During the pride season 2021 and in view of the coalition negotiations that would take place in Germany at the end of the year, we organised speak outs in 15 cities to demand a Constitution for Everyone! Our common message: the protection of queer people in the German Constitution must be clearly stated in the next coalition agreement!
And we had a partial success! The new government coalition included the protection of sexual identity in Article Three of the constitution in the coalition agreement.
POSTCARD CAMPAIGN AND PETITION HANDOVER
Together with our partner MyPostcard, we went one step further and wanted to ensure that the protection of gender identity is also included and that the extension of Article Three is implemented as soon as possible. So we made it possible for citizens to send their message with this demand directly to the German Parliament, the Bundestag, in form of a postcard.
Our All Out Love Dove, a giant inflatable dove, then delivered 10,000 postcards with almost 100,000 signatures to the heads of the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag and the government's queer commissioner on 17 May 2022, the international day against homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.
The campaign isn’t over yet. We’ll keep working with our partners until Germany has a constitution that includes EVERYONE!