Photo: DPAGay and lesbian activists waving rainbow flags cheered in joyful celebration Friday as Germany's parliament legalised same-sex marriage, a victory in a decades-old rights struggle. Among those celebrating from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community was Sören Landmann of the "Marriage for All" initiative. "Today a bastion has fallen," he told German news agency DPA on the move to allow full marriage rights rather than the civil unions introduced in 2001. The view was shared by Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch, who voiced regret about the "watering down" of a sacred institution. The Lesbian and Gay Association, which has pushed for the reform since 1990, greeted the outcome, declaring that "Germany has voted for love".

Source: The Local June 30, 2017 14:03 UTC