German gay marriage law backed

BERLIN, Germany -- A challenge to Germany's gay marriage law has been thrown out by the country's highest court.

The judges rejected a complaint that gay marriages violate constitutional provisions protecting marriage and the family.

Judges at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe voted 5-3 to back the law, which was challenged by Bavaria and two other states.

"I'm enormously relieved," said Volker Beck, a lawmaker from the Greens party, which led the drive for the legislation.

"This is a gigantic day for gays and lesbians in Germany."

The legislation, which came into effect in August 2001 and was approved by parliament in November 2001, entitles homosexual couples to the same inheritance and insurance privileges as heterosexual couples.

They can also exchange vows at government offices and choose a common surname.

But they do not have the right to tax privileges afforded to heterosexual couples, nor do they have the right to adopt children.

An estimated 4,400 couples have tied the knot under the legislation, about 1 percent of the number of heterosexual marriages sealed annually.

When the challenge was first raised last year, the conservative Christian Social Union, which rules Bavaria, said the legislation marked a "black day for families."

Bavaria is governed by Edmund Stoiber, the conservative challenger to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the September parliamentary elections.

Stoiber said he regretted the decision, but said he would not seek to overturn it if the conservatives win the upcoming election.

Denmark was the first country to grant rights to gay couples in 1989.

Since then France, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and The Netherlands are among countries to have legalised same-sex marriages.