Greece Passes Legislation To Introduce Same-Sex Marriage

(Bloomberg) — Greek lawmakers approved landmark legislation on Thursday to introduce same-sex civil marriage and establish equal parental rights for same-sex couples in the face of opposition from the Orthodox Church.

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The new law “provides everyone with the right to civil marriage along with the obligations that come with it” and safeguards the rights of children “regardless of the form of the family,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said ahead of the vote.

Although a number of EU countries has legalized same-sex marriage, Greece is the first majority Orthodox Christian country to approve such a bill. Opponents to the law said that existing measures introduced in 2015 to allow same-sex civil partnerships were sufficient but that argument was rejected by the majority of lawmakers.

Greece’s parliament voted 176 to 76, out of the 254 who voted in the 300-seat chamber, to extend equal marriage and automatic parental rights to same-sex couples, measures that will also allow them to adopt children. This will allow both parents to have guardianship over their joint children, something that is currently extended to the birth parent.

With the new legislation, children will now be able to inherit from their non-biological parent. What the bill does not do is allow male same-sex couples in Greece to have children via surrogacy. That will be reserved only for women who are unable to give birth.

After winning a second term in a landslide victory in June last year, Mitsotakis promised to legalize same-sex marriage, part of his pledge to modernize the country. Including Greece, 16 European Union member states out of 27 now recognize same-sex marriage.

Mitsotakis had to rely on support from four center-left and leftist opposition parties to pass the law after some members of his center-right New Democracy party either abstained or voted against the move.

The influential Church of Greece strongly opposed the legislation, arguing that it represents a threat for the traditional family. Protesters opposed to the new law marched in Athens on Sunday but the turnout was relatively small.

“The reform makes the lives of lots of our fellow citizens much better, without taking away anything from the lives of the many,” Mitsotakis said.

–With assistance from Sotiris Nikas.

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