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Angela Merkel comes out against gay marriage – 'I don't want discrimination... but I make a difference at some point' Angela Merkel comes out against gay marriage – 'I don't want discrimination... but I make a difference at some point'
(about 4 hours later)
Angela Merkel has come out against gay marriage, revealing she agrees with civil partnerships but believes matrimony is just for men and women. Angela Merkel has come out against gay marriage, saying that she agrees with civil partnerships but believes matrimony is just for men and women.
The German Chancellor backed equal benefits for same-sex couples, such as tax breaks, and said discrimination should be ‘eliminated’.The German Chancellor backed equal benefits for same-sex couples, such as tax breaks, and said discrimination should be ‘eliminated’.
But the committed Christian, who has been married twice, gave her personal definition of marriage as ‘a man and a woman living together’, in a YouTube interview. But the committed Christian, who has been married twice, gave her personal definition of marriage as ‘a man and a woman living together’, in a YouTube interview with Florian Mundt, a YouTube known under the alias LeFloid who has a significant online following.
She said: “I’m someone who is very supportive of us eliminating all discrimination. “I’m someone who is very supportive of us eliminating all discrimination. We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian," she said, according to the Huffington Post.
“We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian.  
"Luckily we overcame this; you can enter a partnership, a civil partnership.
“For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together. That is my concept, but I support civil partnerships.“For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together. That is my concept, but I support civil partnerships.
“I support us not discriminating against them when it comes to taxes, and to remove any other discrimination wherever we may find it." Ms Merkel went on to say stress that marriage should be strictly defined as between a man and a woman, adding: "I am for registered civil partnerships. I am for our not having any discrimination in tax legislation. And wherever we still find discrimination, we will continue to dismantle it," according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
Explaining further, the German leader said: "I don’t want discrimination and [I want] equality, but I make a difference at some point."Explaining further, the German leader said: "I don’t want discrimination and [I want] equality, but I make a difference at some point."
German interviewer Florian Mundt, alias LeFloid, pressed her: "So you could say: no to discrimination, but we’ll keep differentiating between the two." In May, Ms Merkel ruled out introducing same-sex marriage in Germany following the referendum in Ireland.
The Chancellor, whom US magazine Forbes has rated the most powerful woman in the world, replied: "No discrimination. Marriage is a man and a woman living together." A spokesperson for the Chancellor told Reuters news agency at the time: “Today was an important milestone in dismantling discrimination and the chancellor is pleased about that… but same-sex marriages are not a goal of this government."
A spokesman for UK LGBT charity Stonewall said: "Can someone really support ‘eliminating all discrimination’ if they believe that same-sex unions shouldn’t be labelled as ‘marriages’? Merkel, a former research scientist, is the daughter of a Lutheran minister and has described herself as a member of the evangelical church.
“It must be a quiet week for Angela if her current concern is synonyms."
UK LGBT charity Stonewall takes part in the London Pride march in London this year (Getty) Merkel, a former research scientist, is the daughter of a Lutheran minister and has described herself as a member of the evangelical church.
Her party, the Christian Democratic Union, is the German equivalent of the British Conservative Party.Her party, the Christian Democratic Union, is the German equivalent of the British Conservative Party.