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he Brandenburg Gate is seen with a rainbow flag projected onto it during a vigil for victims of a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando nearly a week earlier, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin on June 18, 2016. (Adam Berry/Getty Images)

After years of defending her party’s opposition to same-sex marriage, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stunned many by announcing this week that members of her center-right, governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party would no longer be asked to toe the party line. Instead, she would let parliamentarians vote “according to conscience”.

In the current Bundestag, a conscience vote — without wrangling by the party whip — is widely believed to be an almost certain win for equal marriage. Parliamentarians, including those of the CDU, responded speedily, calling for a vote as early as this Friday.

Why now? Domestic and international politics explain this development.…  Seguir leyendo »

Across Western Europe, marriage equality is fast becoming the norm: From Scandinavia through the Netherlands and Denmark; even the Catholic countries of Ireland, France and Spain. But there’s one glaring exception: Germany. It stands out not only because it is the largest country in Western Europe, but also because on many measures, it is among the most progressive.

Germany’s outlier status (it allows “registered partnerships,” but not full marriage) is even more curious because much of the country is in favor. But not its leadership: Chancellor Angela Merkel and her party, the Christian Democratic Union, have stood athwart the Continentwide movement and yelled no.…  Seguir leyendo »