After the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage, the pressure on the German government is building. In Germany, civil unions do not enjoy the same benefits as marriages. One example is the adoption law. Since 2014, lesbian or gay couples are only allowed to adopt if one of the partners has previously adopted the child. For now, the conservative CDU/CSU party is strictly opposed to the right to joint adoption and to the opening of marriage. They justify this by pointing out that the constitution protects marriage and family. So far 20 countries have opened marriage to same-sex couples.