Germany has just voted to legalise same-sex marriage.
Parliament voted to enforce the legalisation of gay marriage – finally – by 399 votes to 226, despite Angela Merkel opposing the move.
The Chancellor was seen voting with a red card indicating a vote to block the movement, at the end of a heated debate in the Bundestag.
The vote was called by the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) under the Marriage For All amendment, which had garnered much guaranteed support in the Bundestag from The Left party and Greens who hold majority.
Controversially, Merkel had freed her own conservative Christian Democrat (CDU/CSU) politicians from the party whip on the issue, calling instead for a ‘vote of conscience’.
Johannes Kahrs, an SPD politician known for his LGBT campaigning, launched an attack on Merkel over the ’embarrassing’ delays to the legislation. He concluded his speech with this damning indictment:
Frau Merkel, thanks for nothing.
Germany has allowed same-sex couples to enter civil partnerships since 2001, but same-sex marriages remain illegal.
This latest progression marks a huge – but long overdue – step forward for the LGBT+ community.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.