The persecution of minorities has been a persistent fact of history. The modes of persecution have changed over time, and the minorities that were persecuted and the reasons forwarded for the persecution have varied greatly. But rare was a society that did not define its outsiders, deviants, and scapegoats against whom the rest of society could feel united and elevated. Democracies are by no means immune to this urge to define a real or imagined internal enemy. The way in which a society deals with its minorities can be used to measure its overall political climate and the liberalism attained in its everyday political life beyond the realm of constitutional promises. At the same time, a cross-national perspective on the fate of minorities offers valuable insight into different political cultures. The comparative value is enhanced when one looks at a group that is common to more than one country or society.

This chapter focuses on the gay and lesbian minority in the United States and Germany. The emphasis here is on the political and legal strategies employed by this minority to change its legal and social situation in both countries. Because I try to cover developments in two quite different political entities over the course of a century, a few shortcuts are inevitable. This means, mainly, that current debates are covered only in passing.