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Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis receives applause in parliament after he presented the proposal to legalize same-sex marriage.
1 / 2Photo: Michael Varaklas/AP
Greece has become the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption rights for rainbow families.
It is Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis who has pushed through the equality legislation, which despite opposition both within his own party, conservative New Democracy, and from the country’s powerful Orthodox Church, was voted through on Thursday evening.
The bill passed with the support of, among others, the main opposition party Syriza – whose leader Stefanos Kasselakis is gay.
In a speech to MEPs, Mitsotakis called for the elimination of a serious inequality in Greek democracy that has made same-sex families invisible.
– The reform will significantly improve the lives of many of our citizens, without taking anything away from the lives of many others, he said.
The law passed with 176 yes votes against 76 no. 46 members completely abstained from voting.
Big demonstrations
The vote has been described as historic by LGBTQ organizations who say same-sex families have been forced to deal with a maze of administrative challenges that amount to discrimination under current family law.
The Church of Greece – which has close ties to many members of parliament – has said it is “totally opposed” to the reform, claiming it condemns children to grow up in an “environment of confusion”. On Sunday, around 4,000 people demonstrated in Athens against the bill, many waving religious icons and crucifixes.
Opinion polls show that most Greeks support same-sex marriage, but oppose surrogacy. Same-sex couples will also not be able to use assisted reproduction or surrogacy, measures reserved for single women or heterosexual couples who have difficulty conceiving.
A biological parent
Under the Greek constitution, single parents, regardless of gender, have been allowed to adopt since 1946 – but until now the other partner in a same-sex union has been left out of the process.
Since 2015, same-sex couples have also been able to register their relationships, solving property and inheritance issues, but children in rainbow families can only have one biological parent as guardian.