In July 2009, the German Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, presented the results of a representative and scientific study about children living with same sex parents (rainbow families). The main outcome: Same sex parents do have the same parental and educational capacities as heterosexual parents have. The children show a perfect and splendid development. There is no reason at all according to the study to deny common adoption rights to registered same sex couples. As a consequence Brigitte Zypries argued in favour of common adoption rights for registered lesbian and gay couples.

In August 2009, the German Constitutional Court affirmed that homosexual couples have the right to adopt their partner's children and that this right is not unconstitutional. The court overturned a lower court ruling and argued that social parenthood has to be treated like biological parenthood and that this ruling hat to be applied to homosexual couples as well. Thus the Constitutional Court showed up with a positive position in favour of adoption rights within the political debate about the issue raised by Brigitte Zypries in the middle of the election campaign. As a first consequence the conservative Bavarian government decided to withdraw a complaint of unconstitutionality against the second parents adoption law that was introduced for homosexual couples in 2005.

Today in Germany there is a parliamentarian majority in favour of the common adoption for homosexual couples. All parties represented in the Bundestag, except from the conservative Christian Democrats, support full equal rights for rainbow families. But it seems that the will of the Parliament cannot succeed in any coalition government. We will see more after the elections end of September.