Fairplay for diversity
June 25, 2011
Some 700,000 people celebrated Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Berlin on Saturday, commemorating a 1969 uprising by homosexuals against police violence in New York's Christopher Street in Greenwich Village.
The motto of the 54 float parade was "Fairplay for Diversity" and came just a day before the Women's World Cup opened in Berlin on Sunday. Parade participants campaigned against homophobia in sports.
The parade was led by members of Berlin's political elite, including Social Democratic Mayor Klaus Wowereit, Christian Democrat Frank Henkel and Left party member Klaus Lederer.
Victory in New York
On Friday, New York became the sixth US state to legalize same-sex marriage, marking a major victory for the gay rights movement.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the law was a "historic triumph for equality and freedom."
Same-sex marriage or civil union is already legal in a large number of European countries, including Germany.
Author: Spencer Kimball (AFP, Reuters, dpa, dapd)
Editor: Andreas Illmer