Gay rights pioneer Axel Axgil dies at 96

[n2doc]

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) --

Axel Axgil, whose struggle for gay rights helped make Denmark the first country to legalize same-sex partnerships, has died. He was 96.

Axgil died in a hospital in Copenhagen on Saturday following complications from a fall, Danish gay rights group LGBT Danmark said.

Axgil, born Axel Lundahl-Madsen, was among the founding members of the organization — one of the oldest gay rights groups in Europe — in 1948.

On Oct. 1, 1989, he and his partner Eigil were among 11 couples to exchange vows as Denmark became the first country to allow gays to enter civil unions, with nearly the same rights as heterosexual couples. Eigil Axgil died in 1995.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/30/international/i034210D07.DTL

[joeybee12]

1. RIP...a long and productive life...knr