Gauck: Germany needs debate over gay marriage

German President Joachim Gauck has praised the standard of the debate that took place in Ireland in the leadup to the country's historic referendum on gay marriage. In an interview with the "Irish Times," Gauck said he hoped to see a similarly "sincere" and "engaging" discussion in Germany.

In May, Irish citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of amending the constitutional definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. The step marked a significant shift in the predominantly Catholic country, where homosexuality was a criminal offense until 1993.

Gauck, who is due to embark on a three-day trip to Ireland on Monday, said Germany needed to have a debate so that "people don't have the sense that equality is applied to them differently, or that it's a risk to live in one's own way."

Same-sex civil partnerships have been legal in Germany since 2001, but that status doesn't give gay couples the same tax and adoption rights as marriage.

"It should be made clear that gay people who want to live in a binding union be given the chance for an equal life in love and partnership," the president said.

Federal Family Minister Manuela Schwesig, from the Social Democrats, echoed Gauck's sentiments: "In the grand coalition we should also have an open debate on enacting marriage for same-sex couples, in particular concerning adoption law," she said in a statement.

"Society cannot be a place for discrimination and exclusion of individuals based on their sexual orientation," Schwesig added.

The Social Democrats - the junior coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - support full equality for same-sex couples, but the conservative CDU has resisted change, especially when it comes to adoption rights.

nm/jr (AFP, dpa)