Germany allows its first gay "marriages"

And there is no guarantee that gay "marriage" will be an option any time soon in certain areas of the country. Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hesse are delaying implementation of the new federal law because they have not yet passed their own versions of the law, which gives German states wide latitude in how they allow gays to register their partnerships. The process by which couples may apply differs from state to state -- in most, they can obtain a license from the wedding registry office, but in some, they must pay a visit to the local notary's office. (By sending gays to a notary's office, critics argue, certain states and communities are trying to push gays as far away as possible from the places where traditional marriages are registered.)

In fact, as Berliners celebrated their pioneering gay unions, dozens turned out in Munich to protest the Bavarian government's steadfast refusal to enact the law. Bavaria, along with Saxony, unsuccessfully appealed in July for an injunction against the law. The states argued that same-sex civil unions would endanger the institution of marriage between a man and a woman. Bavarians must wait until the state legislature implements the law in the fall before they can register their partnerships.

Yet despite the official foot-dragging in these states, support for gay marriage is strong in Germany. A national poll conducted last Friday showed 60 percent of the country supporting gay civil unions that are equal to heterosexual marriage. At least 55 percent said they didn't believe gay marriages would have a negative impact on families. Germans may well have been influenced by European neighbors with civil union laws already on the books. Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands already have same-sex civil union laws (as does the U.S. state of Vermont, which celebrated the first anniversary of its gay civil union law in July). Holland is the only country that allows full-fledged gay marriages.

Those who showed up in the Schvneberg area to protest the weakness of the new law vowed to fight any remaining injustices in the measure. Carrying a banner that read "All or nothing," student members of the socialist PDS Party sought to raise awareness of the fact that, while representing a great social advance in Germany, so-called gay marriage is still a long way from having equal footing with heterosexual couplings.

"We are here because this new law is not enough," said 20-year-old Nura Sch|ttpelz, a Free University of Berlin political science student. "Everybody should have the right to marry. Everybody should be allowed to have or adopt children, build a family and be equal. The homosexuals are not really allowed to marry -- this is really a civil union. They should have the same rights that everybody else has," she said.

But even the steady complaints of disgruntled demonstrators could not put a damper on the festivities here. Hartwin and Karl-Heinz, who refused to give their last names to the media, showed up in white suits and were the second couple to be issued civil union status. The two men, now in their 60s, have been partners for more than 36 years.

"It's really simple," said Hartwin. "As we say in Germany: It's better to kill two birds with one stone. Because of the efforts of several German political parties, we didn't get the second half of what we wanted, but we hope that it will come in the future. Above all, we want our marriage to be a symbol. For the past year, more or less, we've been trying to get married. As you can see, we did it on the first day."

But the joy of Hartwin and his partner is bittersweet. "It's still not enough -- we want the tax and legal advantages," he says. "We're now over 60 and won't be adopting any children, but we would have liked to have been able to do it 20 years ago."

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