After Angela Merkel claimed marriage should be ‘between a man and a woman’
It was the best news of last week: Germany finally followed its European neighbors by voting in favor of same-sex marriage equality on Friday morning.
The snap vote showed 393 MPs voted in favor, while seven abstained or were absent.
Meanwhile, the country’s leader Angela Merkel was one of 226 to vote against the move, disappointing many. She has furthermore said marriage ‘should be between a man and a woman.’
It has now emerged that among the 393 to vote in favor were all of Germany’s Muslim politicians.
The Green Party’s Cem Özdemir, Ekin Deligöz, Özcan Mutlu and Omid Nouripour all voted for same-sex marriage equality.
After the vote, Deligöz tweeted: ‘The day when love wins! # Ilike # Marriage for All # # Love is made out of courage # ThereforeGreen’
The centre-left Social Democratic Party’s Aydan Özoguz also voted in favor.
Finally, Cemile Giousouf of Christian Democratic Union (Merkel’s party) also voted in favor.
German publication Welt spoke to all the parties and confirmed that all six of the politicians identify as Muslim.
‘I hope the vote today promotes respect between different opinions’
Merkel said after the vote: ‘For me, marriage in the basic law is marriage between a man and a woman and that is why I did not vote in favour of this bill today.’
She furthermore added: ‘I hope that the vote today not only promotes respect between different opinions but also brings more social cohesion and peace.’
by Jamie Tabberer
Source – Gay Star News
