The legislative body representing Germany's 16 states on Friday backed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, but Chancellor Angela Merkel's outspoken opposition to the effort makes it unlikely that it will become law.

Left-of-center forces currently dominate the Bundesrat, whose makeup is determined by state governments, but Merkel's coalition commands a vast majority in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, the Tagesschau newscast reported. The chancellor has said repeatedly that said she views marriage as "the union of (one) man and (one woman)," according to Bild.

Gay and lesbian couples in Germany are currently limited to civil unions called "registered life partnerships," which provide most -- but not all -- rights of marriage.

"We have already accomplished a lot," Merkel insisted in a July interview. "Twenty-five years ago, many (individuals) would not even dare to admit that they were gay or lesbian. Thank God we have moved away from that: You can enter into a civil union (today)," the chancellor added.

But gay couples continue to face particular "harassment" when it comes to adoption, said Irene Alt, the family minister of the western state of Rhineland Palatine. With the Bundesrat's initiative, the Bundestag now has "a good chance to end legal discrimination," Alt, a member of the leftist Greens, told Der Spiegel magazine.

But Winfried Bausback, the minister of justice in the southern state of Bavaria, argued that the legalization of same-sex marriage would require constitutional changes as Germany's Basic Law includes a provision that puts "marriage and family ... under the particular protection."

Any such adjustment would require a two-thirds majority in both the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, argued Bausback, who belongs to a local conservative party that is part of Merkel's coalition.

Across the European Union, meanwhile, a majority of countries still does not recognize gay unions. Nevertheless, some of the bloc's largest nations -- including France, Spain and most of the United Kingdom -- have already put same-sex marriage on their books; even the traditionally conservative country of Ireland voted to do in May, Tagesschau noted.