Greece’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens. The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children and comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBT community for marriage equality in the socially conservative country. Greece is one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow such unions. “This is a historic moment,” Stella Belia, the head of same-sex parents group Rainbow Families, told Reuters. “This is a day of joy.” The bill was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament and will become law when its published in the official government gazette. Although members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, it gained enough support from the leftist opposition in a rare show of cross-party unity despite a tense debate.
via reuters: Greece legalises same sex marriage in landmark change
siehe auch: Greek parliament to vote on legalizing same-sex marriage in first for an Orthodox Christian country. Lawmakers in Greece have begun a debate on a landmark bill to legalize same-sex marriage. It would make Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to do so. The Valentine’s Day session in parliament follows vocal opposition and protests from the Church, but public opinion has shifted and is narrowly supportive of the reform. If approved, the bill would grant same-sex couples full parental rights but not allow male partners to seek children born in Greece through surrogacy. The vote on the same-sex marriage bill is due Thursday; Greece legalises same-sex marriage Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after Thursday’s 176-76 vote in parliament. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new law would “boldly abolish a serious inequality”. But it has divided the country, with fierce resistance led by the powerful Orthodox Church. Its supporters held a protest rally in Athens. Many displayed banners, held crosses, read prayers and sang passages from the Bible in the capital’s Syntagma Square. The head of the Orthodox Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, said the measure would “corrupt the homeland’s social cohesion”.
