German opposition pushes to legalize same-sex marriage this week

German lawmakers will decide Friday whether to legalize same-sex marriage. 

The snap vote comes after Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she would like to see parliament move towards a “vote of conscience” on the issue.

Following Merkel’s comments, German politicians writing on Twitter called for a vote to be held as soon as possible. 

Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the second largest party in parliament, called for parliament not to wait until after the federal election in September. “We will push through marriage equality in Germany”, he tweeted. “This week”.

A survey conducted by Germany’s Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency has found that an overwhelming majority of Germans, over 83%, support marriage equality. 

It's time Germany!