Photos : nhpr.org
By : Ruta

After years of campaigning, things moved swiftly this week with a vote being announced,carried out and successfully passed in a matter of days. Chancellor Angela Merkel gave her Christian Democratic Union party a free vote in the proposal put forward by the Social Democrats – though Mrs Merkel herself voted against the legislation.

The vote passed this morning in the Bundestag by a clear majority. 393 members of parliament voted in favour of the bill, with 296 voting against and 4 abstentions. Previously, same-sex couples could not get married but instead only enter into civil unions. Same-sex couples will now be able to have all the rights connected to existing marriage laws. This includes joint adoption. Same-sex couples may be able to get married in Germany before the end of 2017, after the law is formally amended to reflect the result of today’s historic vote. The German legal code will now read: “Marriage is entered into for life by two people of different or the same sex.”

“This is a historic milestone that can inspire even more change for LGBTI people.” She added: “This result has taken years of persistence – and now there is momentum in Germany. Marriage equality is not the final destination.