Two men in Berlin became the first same-sex couple to adopt a child in Germany, a human rights association said on Tuesday, cheering another "big step forward" for gay people. Germany took big strides towards granting equal rights to gays and lesbians when it allowed same-sex couples to wed from October 1st.

Berliners Michael and Kai Korok promptly transformed their civil partnership into marriage on October 2nd. Two days later, they submitted their wedding certificate to seek legal adoption of a two-year-old boy who has lived with them as a foster child since birth.

Confirmation of their adoption came through on October 5th, said the gay and lesbian rights organization LSVD in Berlin and Brandenburg state. "It's once again a big step forward for gays and lesbians with better judicial security," LSVD spokesman Joerg Steinert told AFP.

Lawmakers this year voted to give Germany's roughly 94,000 same-sex couples the right to marry, following a shift in position by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Through the extension of existing marriage law to same-sex couples, gays and lesbians automatically gained the same tax advantages and adoption rights as other families. Read more via the Local