Germany ponders more legal recognition of same-sex relationships
A group of lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats called this week for same-sex couples in civil partnerships to be given the same tax breaks as heterosexual married couples.
This continues a trend in Europe toward legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but the idea faces skepticism among some of Merkel’s traditionally minded German colleagues, who may be wondering about the long-term effects of the European experiment with sexual radicalism.
Granting same-sex couples the same income tax breaks enjoyed by heterosexual married couples would add to a string of departures from conservative orthodoxy under Merkel’s leadership. Those have included abandoning military conscription and speeding up Germany’s exit from nuclear power....