German Court Decides Canadian Marriages Aren't Real

A German court has declared that Canadian same-sex marriages are not actually real marriages and can therefore only be considered civil partnerships.

Andreas Boettcher and his partner of 17 years married in Canada just before participating in the Montréal OutGames in 2006, but both had their marital status changed to “single” on government documents by German authorities.

While getting the marriage recognized as a civil partnership is a step in the right direction, Andreas was hoping that it would get its full recognition. “I could fight for it,” Andreas told the press, “but it would take a lot of time and money. At least I have reached the minimum.”

Well, it is better than nothing, I suppose. And at least this opens up a cheap and effective means of divorce for anyone in an unhappy relationship. Simply move to Germany and your marriage is automatically annulled; no lawyers or custody battles required!

• German court says Canadian gay marriage just a ‘civil partnership’ [Winnipeg Free Press]