BERLIN — German lawmakers voted Friday to legalize same-sex marriage after a short but emotional debate, bringing the country in line with many of its Western peers. Though Chancellor Angela Merkel voted against the measure, she paved the way for its passage by freeing other members of her party to vote their “conscience.”
Lawmakers voted 393 for legalizing “marriage for everybody” and 226 against, with four abstentions.
Merkel said Monday that lawmakers could take up the issue as a “question of conscience,” allowing members of her conservative coalition, which has been against same-sex marriage, to individually vote for it.
That prompted her centre-left rivals to quickly call for a snap vote on the issue, adding it to the agenda Friday on parliament’s last regular session before Sept. 24 elections. (more...)
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