Germany marks first same-sex weddings after law change

BERLIN -- Germany celebrated its first same-sex weddings Sunday after a new law came into force putting gay and lesbian couples on an equal legal footing with heterosexual couples.

Town halls in Berlin, Hamburg and elsewhere opened their doors to mark the event, made possible by a surprise vote in Parliament three months earlier.

"We're making a single exception to fire a symbolic starter pistol because same-sex marriages are possible from today," said Gordon Holland, a registrar in Berlin's Schoeneberg district.

Holland said it was appropriate for Schoeneberg to hold the first same-sex wedding in the country because it long has been a center of gay life in the German capital.

About 60 guests and an equal number of journalists packed into Schoeneberg town hall's "Golden Room" to witness the marriage of Karl Kreile and his partner of 38 years, Bodo Mende.

The grooms entered the room to the "Wedding March" by 19th-century German composer Felix Mendelssohn before saying their vows and signing the marriage documents to applause and cheers from the assembled guests.

Kreile, 59, said it was an "incredible honor" to be the first same-sex couple to marry in Germany, noting he and Mende, 60, had been campaigning for gay rights for decades.

Germany introduced registered partnerships in 2002, but those gave same-sex couples fewer rights than heterosexual couples who married.

Chancellor Angela Merkel opposed same-sex marriages but agreed to a free vote in Parliament on the matter in June, shortly before national elections. The bill passed with 393 lawmakers voting in favor of marriage equality and 226 -- including Merkel -- voting against.

Some hurdles remain, including that women can't automatically recognize motherhood of a lesbian partner's child, and software used to record marriages doesn't allow for two entries of the same sex.

Still, those attending Sunday's ceremony in Schoeneberg said Germany's decision to allow same-sex marriages -- the 23rd country worldwide to do so -- was a big step.

"The state has recognized that if two people want to stand by each other then that's a marriage, regardless of their sex," said Ulrich Kessler, a guest who has known couple for more than 20 years.

According to official figures there were about 43,000 registered partnerships in Germany in 2015, most of which are expected to be converted into marriages in the coming months.