29 October 2004

BERLIN - Germany's parliament Friday approved a bill expanding the rights of people in same-sex marriages to allow the adoption of children in some cases.

Under the legislation a gay couple married under German law will have the right to adopt a child being brought into the marriage by either partner.

About 5,000 homosexual couples have married in Germany and some 8,000 children are already growing up in such family structures, said German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries.

"Same sex couples are a reality in Germany," said Zypries.

The new law also allows gay and lesbian couples to formally get engaged before marriage and raises standards of financial security guaranteed to such couples for pensions.

Gay rights groups welcomed the move and called for the bill to be swiftly signed into law after its passage in the Bundestag, or lower house, by German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democratic (SPD) majority with the Greens.

Parliament's opposition conservative dominated upper chamber, the Bundesrat, can delay the law but cannot block it. Conservatives have expressed concern over allowing the adoption of children by gay couples.

DPA

Subject: German news