The law to legalise same-sex marriage was passed in parliament today but German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she maintained her belief it was the preserve of a man and a woman.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has voted against a law to legalise same-sex marriage.
The law was passed in parliament today but Merkel said she maintained her belief marriage was the preserve of a man and a woman.
‘To me, marriage as defined in the German basic law means the marriage between husband and wife, ‘ she said shortly after the vote.
She added; ‘That is why I vote against the law today.’
She added that her thinking had changed on the question of child adoption by same-sex couples, which she long opposed, labelling her past comments on it ‘unsatisfactory’.
Merkel went on: ‘Since then I have thought a lot about the matter of child welfare and have now… come to the conviction that same-sex couples should be able to jointly adopt children.’
Merkel had allowed her conservative party’s lawmakers to vote their conscience rather than follow the party line in the vote, which was strongly supported by leftist parties.
