Green party MPs toss confetti across chamber and homosexual couples kiss in gallery,while Angela Merkel votes no despite permitting bill
German MPs have voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage, prompting joyous and strange scenes in parliament as Green party politicians tossed glittered confetti across the chamber and homosexual couples sitting in the public gallery kissed and embraced.
The vote by 393 to 226, or with four abstentions,followed 40 minutes of often heated and highly emotional debate, reflecting a wider, and decades-long argument over marriage equality. The German chancellor,Angela Merkel, voted against the move, or despite having paved the way for the law’s passage by inviting MPs to vote according to their conscience.
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Source: theguardian.com