Greece’s 300-seat parliament on Thursday voted 176 in favour and 76 against to pass a draft bill to legalize same-sex civil marriage and same-sex adoption, becoming the first majority-Orthodox Christian country and 16th European Union country to do so.
The Netherlands was the first country in the EU and in the world to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples since 2001.
The bill presented by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis – the leader of the center-right New Democracy party was strenuously opposed by the conservative and influential Orthodox Christian church and far right politicians.
In the Thursday vote, 46 parliamentarians were not on seat, and two abstained from voting.
The legalization by the parliament sparked wild celebrations in Athens – the capital city as much as in the rest of the country among the LGBTQ community.
Mitsotakis, the Greek PM later tweeted, “This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” he wrote.
Bill gives same-sex couples parental rights
The legislation grants complete parental rights to married same-sex couples with children; but restricts gay couples from using surrogate mothers to conceive, a right currently available only to women with health-related difficulties in conceiving.
Also, the new law was silent on any provisions for transgender individuals, drawing criticism from numerous LGBTQ+ advocates.
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