Near the end of the Upper Paleolithic Era, human beings have left artifacts and artwork suggesting an appreciation of homo eroticism. Examples include a few cave paintings and hundreds of phallic "batons" among which is a graphically carved double dildo from Gorge d'Enfer (in present-day France) that seems to have been crafted for two women to use together.[1]
5,000 BCE
Possible examples of homo eroticism in European Mesolithic art include a rock engraving found in Addaura, Sicily, in which men and women dance around two cavorting sexually aroused male figures.
Pederasty spread through ancient Greece, influencing sports, literature, politics, philosophy, art and warfare, and causing, according to some,
a flowering of culture; it was associated with gymnasia and athletic nudity.[3][4]
338 BCE The Sacred Band of Thebes, an undefeated elite battalion made up of one hundred and fifty pederastic couples, is destroyed by the forces of Philip II of Macedon who bemoans their loss and praises their honor.
27 BCE The Roman Empire begins with the reign of Augustus. The first recorded same-sex marriages occur during this period.[6]
1st century CE
54 ? Nero becomes Emperor of Rome. Nero married two men in legal ceremonies, with at least one spouse accorded the same honours as a Caesar's wife.[7]
98 ? Trajan, one of the most beloved of Roman emperors, begins his reign. Trajan was well known for his homosexuality and fondness for young males and this was used to advantage by the king of Edessa, Abgarus, who, after incurring the anger of Trajan for some misdeed, sent his handsome young son to make his apologies, thereby obtaining pardon. [8]
2nd century CE
130 - Emperor Hadrian's beloved Antinous drowns in the Nile, and upon Hadrian's death, Antinous was deified. He is actually the last non-imperial human to be deified. Antinous' likeness is found on numerous statues; he is often believed to have one the most recognizable faces from antiquity.
3rd century CE
218 - The emperor Elagabalus begins his reign. He married a man named Zoticus, an athlete from Smyrna, in a lavish public ceremony at Rome amid the rejoicings of the public.[9]
4th century CE
342 ? Homosexuality had been accepted by all ancient cultures as a normal part of human sexuality. The rise of Christianity, however, led to the beginning of homophobia. The first law against homosexual marriage was promulgated by the Christian emperors Constantius II and Constans. [10]
390 ? In the year 390, the Christian emperors Valentinian II, Theodosius I and Arcadius declared homosexual sex to be illegal and those who were guilty of it were condemned to be burned alive in front of the public. [11]
5th century CE
498 ? In spite of the laws against gay sex, the Christian emperors continued to collect taxes on male prostitutes until the reign of Anastasius I, who finally abolishes the tax.[12]
6th century CE
529 ? The Christian emperor Justinian I (527-565) made homosexuals a scape goat for problems such as "famines, earthquakes, and pestilences." [13]
589 ? The Visigothic kingdom in Spain, is converted from Arianism to Catholicism. This conversion leads to a revision of the law to conform to those of Catholic countries. These revisions include provisions for the persecution of gays and Jews.[14]
1000?1100 ? An eleventh century Byzantine legal treatise makes it clear that gay unions are well-known and legal in early medieval Byzantine society.
1000?1100 ? In Scandinavia, culttransvestitism persisted for centuries. As well, only sons who inherited their fathers? land could marry in early medieval Scandinavia. The others had to leave the land, and they joined warrior societies. Women, expected to remain strictly chaste, and punished severely for violating this rule, were largely unavailable. Thus, in these warriors clubs, pederasty was practiced as an institutionalized way of life.
1051 ? St. Peter Damian composed the Book of Gomorrah, in which he luridly described several varieties of gay sex, and said that they were quite common, especially among priests. He was unable to convince his contemporaries that homosexuality was a grave problem that had to be stopped. While Pope Leo IX saw homosexuality as a "grave sin", he was nevertheless reluctant to come down as harshly as Peter Damian wanted him to.
1100 ? Ivo of Chartres attempts to convince Pope Urban II of the dangers of homosexuality. Ivo charged that Raoul/Ralph, Archbishop of Tours, had the king of France install John as bishop of Orleans. John was well-known as Ralph?s lover, and had even had relations with the king himself, which the king openly bragged about. Urban, however, did not see this as a major problem. John ruled effectively as bishop for almost forty years and Ralph was well-known and well-respected, and continued to be so.
12th century CE
1102 ? The Council of London took measures to ensure that the English public knew that it was sinful, marking a significant shift in church attitudes towards homosexuality, which previously had been more or less indifferent, at worst amounting to mild condemnation. Many priests were homosexuals, likely one of the causes of the change in attitude, as moral reformers such as Bernard of Cluny called for change.
13th century CE
1250?1300 ? "Between 1250 and 1300, homosexual activity passed from being completely legal in most of Europe to incurring the death penalty in all but a few contemporary legal compilations." ? John Boswell, Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality (1980) p. 293. Other historians dispute Boswell's claim, however.
14th century CE
1327 ? The deposed King Edward II of England allegedly is anally penetrated deeply with a red-hot poker, killing him. Edward II had a history of conflict with the nobility, who repeatedly banished his former lover Piers Gaveston, the Earl of Cornwall.
1370s ? Jan van Aersdone and Willem Case were two men executed in Antwerp in the 1370s. The charge against them was gay sex, which was illegal and strenuously vilified in medieval Europe. Aersdone and Case stand out because records of their names have survived. One other couple still known by name from the 14th century were Giovanni Braganza and Nicoleto Marmagna of Venice.[15]
16th century CE
1533 ? King Henry VIII passes the Buggery Act 1533 making all male-male sexual activity is crime punishable by death.
1726 ? Mother Clap's molly house in London is raided by police, resulting in Clap's death and the execution at Tyburn of all the men arrested.
Between 1730 and 1811, a widespread panic in the Dutch Republic leads to a spectacular series of trials for sodomy, with persecutions at their most severe from 1730 to 1737, 1764, 1776, and from 1795 to 1798.
1779 ? USA In 1779, Jefferson prepared a draft of Virginia?s criminal statute, envisaging that the punishment for sodomy should be castration. See Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew A. Lipscomb, ed. (Washington, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904) Vol. I, pp.226?27, from Jefferson?s ?For Proportioning Crimes and Punishments.?
The bill read: ?Whosoever shall be guilty of rape, polygamy, or sodomy with a man or woman, shall be punished; if a man, by castration, a woman, by boring through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch in diameter at the least.? (Virginia Bill number 64; authored by Jefferson; 18 June 1779).
1791 ? RevolutionaryFrance adopts a new penal code which no longer criminalizes sodomy. France thus becomes the first West European country to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.
1871 ? Homosexuality is criminalized throughout Germany by Paragraph 175 of the Reich Criminal Code; Guatemala and Mexico decriminalize homosexual acts.
1892 ? The words "bisexual" and "heterosexual" are first used in their current senses in Charles Gilbert Chaddock's translation of Kraft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis.
1895 ? The trial of Oscar Wilde results in his being prosecuted under the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 for "gross indecency" and sentenced to two years in prison.
1907 ? Adolf Brand, the activist leader of the Gemeinschaft der Eigenen, working to overturn Paragraph 175, publishes a piece "outing" the imperial chancellor of Germany, Prince Bernhard von Bülow. The Prince sues Brand for libel and clears his name; Brand is sentenced to 18 months in prison.
1910s
1910 ? Emma Goldman first begins speaking publicly in favor of homosexual rights.
May 14, 1928 issue of German lesbian periodical Die Freundin (Friedrich Radszuweit)
1913 ? The word faggot is first used in print in reference to gays in a vocabulary of criminal slang published in Portland, Oregon: "All the fagots [sic] (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight".
1917 ? The October Revolution in Russia repeals the previous criminal code in its entirety ? including Article 995.
1920s
1920 ? The word Gay is used for the first time in reference to homosexual in the Underground.
1921 ? In England an attempt to make lesbianism illegal for the first time in Britain's history fails.
1922 ? A new criminal code comes into force in the USSR officially decriminalizing homosexual acts.
1923 ? The word fag is first used in print in reference to gays in Nels Anderson's The Hobo: "Fairies or Fags are men or boys who exploit sex for profit."
1924 ? The first homosexual rights organization in America is founded in Chicago ? The Society for Human Rights. The movement exists for a few months before being ended by the police. Panama, Paraguay and Peru legalize homosexuality.
1928 ? The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall is published in the United States. This sparks great legal controversy and brings the topic of homosexuality to public conversation.
1941 ? Transsexuality was first used in reference to homosexuality and bisexuality.
1942 ? Switzerland decriminalizes homosexuality, with the age of consent set at 20.
1944 ? Sweden decriminalizes homosexuality, with the age of consent set at 20 and Suriname legalizes homosexuality.
1945 ? Upon the liberation of Nazi concentration camps by Allied forces, those interned for homosexuality are not freed, but required to serve out the full term of their sentences under Paragraph 175; Portugal decriminalises homosexuality for the second time in its history.
1946 ? "COC" (Dutch acronym for "Center for Culture and Recreation"), one of the earliest homophile organizations, is founded in the Netherlands. It is the oldest surviving LGBT organization.
1947 ? Vice Versa, the first North American LGBT publication, is written and self-published by Edith Eyde in Los Angeles.
1948 ? "Forbundet af 1948" ("League of 1948"), a homosexual group, is formed in Denmark.
1954 ? June 7 ? Alan Turing dies from cyanide poisoning, 18 months after being given libido-reducing hormone treatment for a year as a punishment for homosexuality; Arcadie, the first homosexual group in France, is formed.
1957 ? The word "Transsexual" is coined by U.S. physician Harry Benjamin; The Wolfenden Committee's report recommends decriminalizing consensual homosexual behaviour between adults in the United Kingdom; Psychologist Evelyn Hooker publishes a study showing that homosexual men are as well adjusted as non-homosexual men, which becomes a major factor in the American Psychiatric Association removing homosexuality from its handbook of disorders in 1973.
1961 ? Czechoslovakia and Hungary decriminalize sodomy, the Vatican declare that anyone who is "affected by the perverse inclination" towards homosexuality should not be allowed to take religious vows or be ordained within the Roman Catholic Church. José Sarria becomes the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States when he runs for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
1963 ? Israel decriminalizes de-facto sodomy and sexual acts between men by judicial decision against the enforcement of the relevant section in the old British-mandate law from 1936 (which in fact was never enforced).
1966 - The Mattachine Society stages a "Sip-In" at Julius Bar in New York City challenging a New York State Liquor Authority prohibiting serving alcohol to gays.
1966 ? The National Planning Conference of Homophile Organizations is established (to became NACHO ? North American Conference of Homophile Organizations ? in 1967); The Compton's Cafeteria riot occurred.
1967 ? Chad decriminalizes homosexuality; The Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalises male homosexual behaviour in England and Wales; The book "Homosexual Behavior Among Males" by Wainwright Churchill breaks ground as a scientific study approaching homosexuality as a fact of life and introduces the term "homoerotophobia", a possible precursor to "homophobia"; The Oscar Wilde Bookshop, the world's first homosexual-oriented bookstore, opens in New York City; "Our World" ("Nuestro Mundo"), the first Latino-American homosexual group, is created in Argentina; A raid on the Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles, California promotes homosexual rights activity. The Student Homophile League at Columbia University is the first institutionally recognized gay student group in the United States.
1968 ? Paragraph 175 is eased in East Germany decriminalizing homosexual acts over the age of 18; Bulgaria decriminalizes adult homosexual relations.
1969 ? The Stonewall riots occur in New York; Paragraph 175 is eased in West Germany; Homosexual behavior legalized in Canada with an Age of Consent of 21 for sodomy, and 14 for non-sodomy; Poland decriminalizes homosexual prostitution; The Canadian Prime Minister is quoted as saying: "The government has no business in the bedrooms of the nation"; An Australian arm of the Daughters of Bilitis forms in Melbourne and is considered Australia's first homosexual rights organisation.
1972 ? Sweden becomes first country in the world to allow transsexuals to legally change their sex, and provides free hormone therapy; Hawaii legalizes homosexuality; In Australia, the Dunstan Labor government introduces a consenting adults in private type defence in South Australia. This defence was initiated as a bill by Murray Hill, father of former Defence Minister Robert Hill, and later repealed the state's sodomy law in 1975; Norway decriminalizes homosexuality; East Lansing, Michigan and Ann Arbor, Michigan and San Francisco, California become the first cities in United States to pass a homosexual rights ordinance. Jim Foster, San Francisco and Madeline D. Davis, Buffalo, New York, first gay and lesbian delegates to the Democratic Convention, Miami, McGovern; give the first speeches advocating a gay rights plank in the Democratic Party Platform. "Stonewall Nation" first gay anthem is written and recorded by Madeline D. Davis and is produced on 45 rpm record by the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier. Lesbianism 101, first lesbianism course in the U.S. taught at the University of Buffalo by Margaret Small and Madeline D. Davis.
The Gay Pride Flag, symbol of the Gay Rights Movement, was first flown in 1978 in San Francisco. This is the current version, flying over the Castro in June 2005
1975 ? Elaine Noble becomes the second openly homosexual American elected to public office when she wins a seat in the Massachusetts State House; South Australia becomes the first state in Australia to make homosexuality legal between consenting adults in private. Panama is the second country in the world to allow transsexuals who have gone through gender reassignment surgery to get their personal documents reflecting their new sex.
1977 ? Harvey Milk is elected city-county supervisor in San Francisco, becoming the third out American elected to public office; Dade County, Florida enacts a Human Rights Ordinance; it is repealed the same year after a militant anti-homosexual-rights campaign led by Anita Bryant. Quebec becomes the first jurisdiction larger than a city or county in the world to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the public and private sectors; Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Vojvodina legalised homosexuality.
1981 ? The European Court of Human Rights in Dudgeon v. United Kingdom strikes down Northern Ireland's criminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting adults, leading to Northern Ireland decriminalising homosexual sex the following year; Victoria, Australia and Colombia decriminalize homosexuality with a uniform age of consent; The Moral Majority starts its anti-homosexual crusade; Norway becomes the first country in the world to enact a law to prevent discrimination against homosexuals; Hong Kong's first sex-change operation is performed.
1982 ? France equalizes the age of consent; The first Gay Games is held in San Francisco, attracting 1,600 participants; Northern Ireland decriminalizes homosexuality; Wisconsin becomes the first US state to ban discrimination against homosexuals; New South Wales becomes the first Australian state to outlaw discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived homosexuality.
1983 ? Massachusetts Representative Gerry Studds reveals he is a homosexual on the floor of the House, becoming the first openly homosexual member of Congress; Guernsey (Including Alderney, Herm and Sark) and Portugal decriminalizes homosexuality, AIDS is described as a "gay plague" by Reverend Jerry Falwell.
1984 ? The lesbian and gay association "Ten Percent Club" is formed in Hong Kong; Massachusetts voters reelect representative Gerry Studds, despite his revealing himself as homosexual the year before; New South Wales and the Northern Territory in Australia make homosexual acts legal; Chris Smith, newly elected to the UK parliament declares: "My name is Chris Smith. I'm the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, and I'm gay", making him the first openly out homosexual politician in the UK parliament. The Argentine Homosexual Community (Comunidad Homosexual Argentina, CHA) is formed uniting several different and preexisting groups. Berkeley, California becomes the first city in the U.S. to adopt a program of domestic partnership health benefits for city employees.
1985 ? France prohibits discrimination based on lifestyle (moeurs) in employment and services; The first memorial to gay Holocaust victims is dedicated; Belgium equalizes the age of consent.
1986 ? Homosexual Law Reform Act passed in New Zealand, legalizing sex between males over 16; June in Bowers v. Hardwick case, U.S. Supreme Court upholds Georgia law forbidding oral or anal sex, ruling that the constitutional right to privacy does not extend to homosexual relations, but it did not state whether the law could be enforced against heterosexuals.
1987 ? ACT UP stages its first major demonstration, seventeen protesters are arrested; U.S. Congressman Barney Frank comes out; Homomonument, a memorial to persecuted homosexual, opens in Amsterdam.
1988 ? Sweden is the first country to pass laws protecting homosexual regarding social services, taxes, and inheritances. Section 28 passes in England and Wales; Scotland enacts almost identical legislation; Canadian MPSvend Robinson comes out; Canada lowers the age of consent for sodomy to 18; Belize and Israel decriminalize (de jure) sodomy and sexual acts between men (the relevant section in the old British-mandate law from 1936 was never enforced in Israel).
1989 ? Western Australia de-crimilizes male homosexuality (but the age of consent is set at 21); Liechtenstein legalizes homosexuality; Denmark is the first country in the world to enact registered partnership laws (like a civil union) for same-sex couples, with most of the same rights as marriage (excluding the right to adoption and the right to marriage in a church).
1990s
1990 ? OutRage!, an LGBT rights direct action group, forms in the UK; Czechoslovakia equalizes the age of consent and Jersey legalizes homosexual acts. Justin Fashanu is the first professional footballer to come out in the press.
1993 ? Brandon Teena is raped and murdered; The third homosexual rights march on Washington, DC is held; Sodomy laws are repealed in Norfolk Island and the Republic of Ireland; Gibraltar and Russia decriminalizes consensual male sodomy (with the exception of the Chechen Republic); Lithuania legalizes homosexuality; Norway enacts registered partnership civil union laws that grant same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, except for the right to adopt or marry in a church.
1994 ? Bermuda, Serbia and South Africa legalize homosexuality; The United Kingdom reduces the age of consent for homosexual men to 18; The AMA denounces supposed cures for homosexuality; Canada grants refugee status to homosexuals fearing for their well-being in their native country; Paragraph 175 is repealed in Germany; Israel?s supreme court defines homosexual couple?s rights as the same as any common-law-couple?s rights.
1995 ? Sweden legalizes registered partnerships; The Supreme Court of Canada rules that sexual orientation is a prohibited reason for discrimination under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Albania and Moldova decriminalize homosexuality; The Human Rights Campaign drops the word fund from their title and broadens their mission to promote "an America where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of the American family at home, at work and in every community."
1996 ? The age of consent is equalised in Burkina Faso; Iceland legalizes registered partnerships; Hungary recognizes same-sex partners in unregistered domestic partnerships; Romania decriminalizes homosexuality that is not scandalous; Macedonia decriminalizes homosexuality.
1997 ? South Africa becomes the first country to prohibit explicitly discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution and comes into force; The UK extends immigration rights to same-sex couples akin to marriage; Fiji becomes the second country to protect explicitly against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its constitution; Laws prohibiting private homosexual acts are finally repealed in Tasmania, Australia, the last Australian state to do so, as well as in Ecuador; Russia equalizes the age of consent.
1998 ? Matthew Shepard is murdered; The Employment Equality Act is introduced in Ireland, covering wrongful dismissal based on the grounds of sexual orientation; Sexual orientation is read into the IRPA, Alberta's human rights act, through Vriend v. Alberta; Ecuador is the third country in the world to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan legalize homosexuality; Croatia and Latvia equalize the age of consent. Cyprus decriminalizes homosexuality;
1999 ? California adopts a domestic partnership law; France enacts civil union laws; The "Queer Youth Alliance" is founded in the UK; Israel?s supreme court recognizes a lesbian partner as another legal mother of her partner?s biological son; Finland equalizes the age of consent.
21st century CE
2000s
(See individual year page for more info)
2000 ? The United Kingdom's ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces is abolished and Clause 2A is repealed in Scotland; the former USSR states of Azerbaijan and Georgia legalize homosexual acts; Gabon decriminalize homosexuality; the age of consent is equalised in the United Kingdom, Belarus, and Israel; The Bundestag officially apologizes to gays and lesbians persecuted under the Nazi regime, and for "harm done to homosexual citizens up to 1969"; Vermont becomes the first U.S. state to legalize civil unions; Israel recognizes same-sex relations for immigration purposes for a foreign partner of an Israeli resident.
2001 ? The state of Arizona repeals its sodomy law; Albania and Liechtenstein equalize the age of consent; Same-sex marriage is legalized in the Netherlands, making it the first country to do so; Germany enacts registered partnership legislation; Protesters disrupt the first Pride march in Belgrade; and the rest of the United Kingdom's territories legalize homosexuality.
2002 ? Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania and Western Australia all equalize their age of consent; Romania repeals article 200, which was used to punish "scandalous sodomy"; Sweden legalizes adoption for same-sex couples; Zurich extends marriage-like rights to same-sex couples; openly gay Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated by Volkert van der Graaf; homosexuality is decriminalized in China; a civil unions law is passed in Buenos Aires, making it the first Latin-American city to legalize same-sex unions. The Arkansas Supreme Court strikes down anti-sodomy laws in Jegley v. Picado.
2003 ? Belize recriminalizes homosexuality; Section 28 is repealed in England and Wales; the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down remaining state sodomy laws; Armenia decriminalizes male homosexual sodomy; Lithuania, the Northern Territory and New South Wales all equalize their age of consent; same-sex marriage in Belgium is legalized; Germany's Supreme Court upholds the country's civil union.
2004 ? In Tasmania, the Relationships Act 2003 providing a registered partnership becomes affective from 1 January, 2004; Cape Verde and Marshall Islands legalize homosexuality, both from 1 February 2004; Portugal is the fourth country in the world to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in their Constitution; Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage while eleven other U.S. states ban the practice through public referendums; Domestic partnerships are legalized in New Jersey; Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil accepts civil unions; Australia bans same-sex marriage on the 13 August, 2004; New Zealand provides passes a civil union bill; Luxembourg introduces civil partnerships; Same-sex marriages in Belgium get adoption rights and are equal to marriage. James McGreevey becomes the first openly gay Governor in U.S. history.
2005 ? New Zealand is the first nation in the world to outlaw hate crime and employment discrimination on the basis of gender identity; Puerto Rico repeals anti-sodomy law; Hong Kong age of consent equalized through legal ruling;[22]Uganda and Latvia amend their constitutions to prohibit same-sex marriage; Same-sex marriage is legalized in Spain and Canada (together with adoption); Andorra recognizes same-sex partners in "Stable Unions"; Two gay male teenagers, Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, are executed in Iran; Switzerland votes in favor of extending rights for registered same-sex couples; South Africa's Supreme Court rules that it is unconstitutional to ban gay marriages, legalizing same-sex marriage effective 1 December2006; André Boisclair is chosen leader of the Parti Québécois, becoming the first openly homosexual man elected as the leader of a major political party in North America. UK introduces civil partnerships with rights all but equal to marriage; Maine adds sexual orientation and gender identity to existing anti-discrimination laws.
2008 ? The "civil union" law goes into effect in New Hampshire and Uruguay since 1 January, 2008 and also a "domestic partnership" legislation in Oregon came into effect from 4 February ? Lots of couples sign up for these; Both Nicaragua and Panama legalizes homosexuality - With an equal age of consent, under a new Penal Code coming into effect; Kosovo declares to be an international country with a new constitution that includes "sexual orientation" the first of its kind in Eastern Europe, and the Registered partnership legislation called the Relationships Act 2008 will come into effect from 1 December, 2008 in Victoria (Australia) and the Australian Capital Territory will provide a Civil Partnership called the Civil Partnership Act 2008 will commence from 15 November, 2008. On May 15, 2008, the California State Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples equal marriage rights, thus making California the second state to legalize same-sex marriage. Also in May, Portland voters elect Sam Adams (Oregon politician) mayor, making it the largest city in the US with an openly-gay mayor. Portland is about three times the size of the next-largest city with an out mayor, Providence, Rhode Island. On June 3 the first two same sex civil marriages (two men and two women)take place in Greece on the island of Tilos. The supreme court prosecutor and the minister of Justice claim the marriages are null and void and Austria will provide a registered partnership from 20 December 2009.
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