The following post was researched through CNN

Once it has been officially signed into law, Germany will enter the club of more than 20 countries where same-sex marriage is legal.

German officials put down a vote by a wide margin to legalize same-sex marriage on Friday, a monumental decision which came just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel dropped her longstanding proposal to a free vote on the issue.

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The bill gives homosexual couples in Germany the same rights as heterosexual couples, and will allow same-sex couples to marry and jointly adopt children. It passed by 393 votes to 226, with four abstentions.

The bill is likely to pass through the Bundesrat -- Germany's upper house -- next week. The Bundesrat has previously approved legalizing same-sex marriage.

Two-thirds of Germans said they were in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in a recent YouGov poll.

 Merkel votes no 

"For me and the basic law, it's about the marriage of a woman and a man. That's why I voted against it," she said, adding that it had been an emotional debate for many in parliament, including herself.

"I hope that the vote today shows not only the mutual respect for different opinions but that this also leads to more peace and social cohesion as well," she said.

 By Judith Vonberg and Laura Smith-Spark, CNNUpdated 1030 GMT (1830 HKT) June 30, 2017 

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