Germany celebrates its first same-sex marriage shortly after a new law that gives gay and lesbian couples the same rights as heterosexual couples comes into effect.
Weddings all over Germany
Town halls opened their doors in cities like Berlin, Hamburg and beyond, but the first official ceremony took place in Berlin’s Schoeneberg district. According to Gordon Hollad, a registrar in the region, Schoeneberg was the ideal place to hold the first gay wedding because it has long served as the center of gay life in Berlin.
Since the 1920s, the district has fostered a free-spirited culture that was immortalized in the novels of Briton Christopher Isherwood. It has served as one of the focal points of the battle for gay rights in Germany, and even hosted the world’s first gay rights demonstration in 1922.
“We are making a single exception to fire a symbolic pistol, because same-sex marriage is possible as of today,” he said.
The lucky couple? Karl Kreile and his partner of 38 years, Bodo Mende. They shared their ceremony with about 60 guests and an equal number of journalists who wanted to capture this momentous event.
Mende, who has been a Schoeneberg resident for many years, says the area “has been shaped by the way it has advocated for gay rights for the better part of a century. The world’s first gay and trans bars started here and it has survived two world wars and many attempts to eliminate it,” he added, referring to the thousands killed in the area by gays who lived by gays. “So it’s fitting that we’re here again today to mark this historic moment.”
According to Kreile, it was an “incredible honor” to be the first same-sex marriage in Germany. Both have been active gay rights activists for decades. The couple had already celebrated 15 years ago when Germany introduced the possibility for gay and lesbian couples to register partnerships in 2002. However, this did not give same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples getting married.
A signal of change in Germany
Although Chancellor Angela Merkel has been open about her opposition to same-sex marriage, she agreed to a surprise free vote in parliament last June. Whether it was strictly politically motivated or just an accident is up to interpretation. The bill was widely supported by the public and easily passed by lawmakers by a margin of 393 to 226.
Germany becomes 14thth The European country will legalize gay marriage and 23st around the world. Official figures say there were approximately 43,000 registered partnerships in Germany in 2015, many of which are expected to convert to marriages in the coming months.
“This day sends a significant signal that state discrimination against lesbians and gays is over,” said Joerg Steinert, head of the Berlin branch of Germany’s lesbian and gay association. “This was long overdue in Germany and so this is a day of great joy.”
