In Germany, same-sex marriage has not yet been approved. However, the Court ruled that homosexual couples have the same rights, such as joint tax returns and other privileges previously exclusive to heterosexual marriages.
Therefore, what worries the country's activists most now is the recent statement by German Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, regarding the adoption of children by gays.
"I honestly say that total equality of rights is something very difficult. I'm not sure it's best for the well-being of the child [being adopted by homosexual couples]," said the minister.
Angela Merkel's opinion creates a rift in her party, the Christian Democratic Union (UDC), as some parliamentarians are in favor of extending rights to the LGBT community.
"If the UDC wants to remain a party of the masses, it must take changing realities into account. We cannot simply say that something is fine because it has always been that way," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.
Representative Jens Spahn, also from the UDC, believes that the achievement of adoption by homosexual couples will happen in a short time. "Today, we are all in agreement regarding the equality of rights, not counting adoption. I am convinced that, in a few more years, we will have made further progress," he said.
Despite Angela Merkel's attitude of remaining against adoption to please the conservative part of Germany, a survey published by the magazine "Stern" showed that the majority of Germans (74%) are in favor of total equalization of rights, including a large part of the electorate from the UDC party.
The discussion surrounding the approval of the law directly affected psychotherapist Judith Steinbeck. 13 years ago, she adopted a Vietnamese girl and until then had been unable to name her wife as the child's mother, until she went to court. "I was afraid that something would happen to me. Not because of me, but because, if something happens, German law does not guarantee that my daughter will stay with her other mother," she said.
Judith Steinbeck's family
Thanks to the Karlsruhe court, Judith's wife was able to begin the process to become the teenager's legal mother. However, if the two want to adopt another child, they would not be able to do so as a couple, until the adoption law for homosexual couples is approved.
