By 2020, in Germany "registered life partnerships" probably will have the same rights as married heterosexual couples, but it is possible, that they will not be officially called "marriages" for symbolic reasons (appeasement of large parts of the CDU/CSU) even then.
How can all of you German members claim this, when it's already clear since 2012 that about half the members of the Bundestag already fully support gay marriage? It seems to me that all parliamentarian parties except CDU/CSU now have thrown their full-blown support behind the idea. The only reason why the Free Democratic Party didn't support it when it came up for a Bundestag vote in 2012, was their governing coalition with CDU/CSU back then, which pretty much made it impossible for them to legally endorse it. If CDU/CSU makes a catastrophic general election in 2017, which I think is very much a possibility, there should already be a huge majority in the Bundestag in order to legalize gay marriage. Although I honestly think it could become a reality way before that, perhaps in 2015. The Social Democrats will make a lot of noise in order to achieve this goal. It's probably one of their top 5 priorities right now.
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The Green Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Left Party support same-sex marriage and voted for a defeated bill to legalise it. The Free Democratic Party also supports it but voted against during the 2009-2013 government because CDU/CSU opposes it. On 28 June 2012, a Green Party motion in the Bundestag (Federal Diet) to legalise same-sex marriage was defeated by a vote of 309 to 260, with 12 abstentions. The motion was meant to give parity to same-sex couples in adoption and for tax purposes. Members of the ruling coalition of Union parties and Free Democratic Party voted against the proposal while opposition parties Social Democratic Party, Greens, and The Left supported it.
On 22 March 2013, the Bundesrat passed an initiative proposed by 5 states, which would open marriage to same-sex couples. The bill was sent to the Bundestag for a vote, however, the ruling coalition was still the same as in 2012 when the previous proposal was defeated. Federal elections were held on 22 September 2013, after which a new government coalition needs to be formed.
The new Bundestag, which started on 22 October, again consists of a theoretical majority of parties that favour LGBT rights (SPD, Die Linke and The Greens). Die Linke plans to bring up a vote on legalising same-sex marriage.
A February 2013 poll found 74% of the German people supporting same-sex marriage, with 23% against. Support was recorded to be strongest among Greens and Social Democratic (SPD) voters, but even among voters of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing Christian Democrats (CDU) almost two-thirds were in favour, the poll showed. A May 2013 Ipsos poll found that 67% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage and another 12% supported other forms of recognition for same-sex couples. According to the Ifop poll, conducted in May 2013, 74% of Germans supported allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children."
When 3 out of 4 Germans, including 2 out of 3 CDU/CSU voters already support gay marriage, it's just a matter of time, in my opinion, before it'll become a legislative reality.
Poll
