German lawmakers voted on Friday, June 30, to legalize same-sex marriage, 393-226 and four abstains. Despite the fact that LGBT couples throughout Germany will be able to get married as soon as early this fall, the vote does not feel like liberation. Essentially, what members of the community won today was the right to start, and become, a family. The country’s civil code has allowed same-sex civil unions since 2001, but such couples were not allowed to adopt children together.
Mere months ago, Germany was leading the EU fight against the extreme right, promising hope for the European Union despite the rise of politicians such as Marine Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. Today, France and Germany remain the union’s last hope, but Germany remains a country split between old-fashioned conservatives and modernization. By law and by nature, the nation is still predominantly Christian; take for example the fact that shops in Germany are closed on Sundays for religious reasons. The biggest political party, and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party, is Christian.
Unsere heutige #ZahlDesTages: 66%. Mehr: https://t.co/994qpOtCnV #EheFürAlle #PrideMonth @elliotttender @queer_de pic.twitter.com/3rUrBYQmX2
— YouGov Deutschland (@YouGov_DE) June 30, 2017
A recent YouGov Deutschland poll revealed that two-thirds of Germans were in favor of legalizing gay marriage and a recent survey by the government’s anti-discrimination agency found that 83% of Germans were in favor of marriage equality. While citizens’ support for the legalization was strong, the Bundestag (German Parliament) vote came out of nowhere, having been called by the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) under an amendment entitled “marriage for all.”
SDP’s opportunity arose after the German chancellor said she would allow deputies to vote their conscience regarding same-sex marriage while responding to an audience member’s question during an interview with the women’s magazine Brigitte on Monday, June 26. Supporters on Twitter started the hashtag #EheFuerAlle (MarriageForAll) and called for a vote as soon as possible. SPD called for a vote before parliament went into summer recess on June 30.
Friday’s session was the last before the recess and before national elections in September. The fact that the vote took place on the last day of June, which is considered to be Pride Month, is completely accidental. Without politicians or the general public having changed their minds about same-sex relationships, the legalization does not feel like a win. Liberals voted in favor, while conservatives against. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Ms. Merkel, finally allowed the vote to take place, but about three quarters of the party casted a “no” ballot.
It should also be noted that the speed at which the issue progressed is remarkable. In the span of just five days, marriage equality in Germany went from idea to law. This is another reason why the vote looks like a set-up. Although Angela Merkel herself opposed the bill because, in her opinion, “marriage in German law is marriage between a man and a woman,” she also stated she had come to support the right of same-sex couples to adopt and to fight anti-LGBT discrimination. Regardless of her vote, the decision to allow same-sex couples to wed will make the chancellor go down in history as the one who made it possible.
In the September elections, Ms. Merkel will not only win the votes of liberals, as a supporter of marriage equality, but also those of conservatives, as an opposer. The bill represents a big political win for the CDU, and perhaps a small loss for their Christian values. Meanwhile, SPD and the Green Party may have won the battle—marriage equality—, but will most likely lose the war—the national elections. While the Green Party celebrated with confetti, Johannes Kahrs, an SPD politician known for his LGBT campaigning, attacked Chancellor Merkel for her “pathetic” and “embarrassing” discrimination against lesbians and gays. “Thank you for nothing!” he added.
Confetti in the German Bundestag by the Greens @Die_Gruenen celebrating the legalization of same-sex marriage ?️? ? #Ehefueralle pic.twitter.com/FK3yAdkaLa
— Lars Scholtyssyk (@lars_scho) June 30, 2017
Friday marks a historic day for the German public and a victory for the political left who have been trying to bring the bill before parliament for years. As one of Europe’s biggest powers, it comes as a surprise to many to learn same-sex marriage is only becoming legal in Germany now. Since most of the country’s neighbors have reached marriage equality already, the bill helps strengthen the ties between allies. For the remainder of the neighboring countries, where same-sex civil unions are allowed, excluding Poland, Germany’s decision might inspire the other nations to partake in a similar vote. With Western Europe having already reached marriage equality and Central Europe transitioning, perhaps Eastern Europe might catch on to equality in the future.
Marriage equality, however it was achieved, is a positive thing. Social justice means fighting for issues you care about. More often than not, we care about these issues because we or somebody we know is unrightfully discriminated for acting different, looking different, believing in something different, and so on, than the majority. It is unfair to the LGBT community and its supporters who have been fighting for liberation for decades to not be taken seriously by the people in charge, to still be looked down upon and to be used for politicians’s own agenda. Couples across Germany are celebrating the parliament’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage, as they should, but let us not forget that this is not true equality.
