Overview
- An internal SPD applications commission in Berlin recommended postponement, which removes the proposal from the May 8–9 state party congress and pushes any vote to 2027.
- The draft would replace civil marriage with flexible “responsibility communities” modeled on France’s PACS, entered by a simple written request at the registry office and open to any number of people.
- Members could exit these communities unilaterally by filing a low‑cost notice, with no court process, and existing religious or free ceremonies would remain purely symbolic.
- The plan ends the income‑splitting tax break for married couples and other marital perks, with current spouses notified of changed rights and an option to convert their union into a responsibility community.
- The authors frame marriage as entrenching patriarchal power and cite domestic violence, the gender pay gap, and caregiving burdens, while also urging removal of Article 6’s special protection for marriage, a step that would require two‑thirds majorities in Bundestag and Bundesrat.