27.3 - Good News: German parliament votes for same-sex marriage

Good News: German parliament votes for same-sex marriage

In another bit of Good News, this one on a topic we have covered a fair amount, which is LGBTQ rights, the German parliament has voted to approve same-sex marriage.

Chancellor Angela Merkel

The vote was 393-226.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, recent liberal hero because of her obvious dislike of Donald TheRump, voted against the measure on the hoary grounds that "marriage is one man and one woman." But to her credit - and doubtless aware of the fact that polls show 83 percent of Germans are in favor of same-sex marriage rights - she released the members of her party to vote their consciences. Despite the fact that less than a quarter of her party members voted yes, it still helped lead to the measure passing by nearly 2-1.

Germany thus joins more than a dozen other European countries in recognizing this right and it is hoped that passage will build momentum for the same result in other German-speaking nations such as Switzerland and Austria.