Germany won’t vote on same-sex marriage, despite overwhelming support
Germany’s parliament will not vote on same-sex marriage, despite an overwhelming majority of citizens supporting full equality.
The highest court in the country has rejected an attempt by the Green Party to force a vote before September’s national election.
The Federal Constitutional Court reported that it had rebuffed the Greens’ application yesterday for an injunction which would have forced a bill to be sent to lawmakers.
A survey earlier this year found that 75 percent of Germans favour complete legal equality for gay people in life partnerships.
That amount of support is higher than it was in the UK the day before same-sex marriage became legal in 2014.
Parliament would have voted on the bill on June 30, during its last session before the election – but same-sex marriage will now continue to be out of reach for LGBT Germans.
Over the weekend, the Green Party made same-sex marriage a condition of entering a coalition.
The opposition party pledged that it would only enter a coalition deal on the condition that same-sex marriage is finally legalised in the country.
Germany has allowed same-sex couples to enter civil partnerships since 2001.
However, the government has ruled out any progress on equal marriage due to a strict coalition agreement.
At present, Germany is governed via a Grand Coalition comprised of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Angela Merkel’s right-wing Christian Democratic Union (CDU), along with the Christian Social Union in Bavaria.
Chancellor Merkel has repeatedly ruled out calls to introduce equal marriage, saying: “For me, marriage is a man and a woman living together.”
In March, Germany quashed the convictions of 50,000 men sentenced for homosexuality under a Nazi-era law, setting up a 30 million euro to compensate those affected.
And in February, German drag queen Olivia Jones played an important role in choosing Germany’s new president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The 47-year old was one of 1,260 voting delegates of the Green Party who choose Joachim Gauck’s new successor.
Steinmeier is anti-Trump, just like the editor of top German newspaper Die Welt, who earlier this year said Germany should be “more gay” in order to tackle the problems posed by the new US president.
