Greece said “yes” on Thursday to homosexual marriage and the adoption of children by same-sex couples, a major societal reform carried by the conservative majority, despite fierce opposition from the influential Orthodox Church.
Once this law is promulgated, this Mediterranean country where a traditional family model still predominates will become the 37th country in the world, the 17th country in the European Union and the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize adoption for parents of the same sex.
Among the 254 deputies present in the unicameral Parliament, 176 voted for, 76 against, and two abstained after two days of debate.
When the result was announced, dozens of people brandishing rainbow flags burst into joy in front of the parliament in central Athens.
For LGBTQ+ associations and homosexual couples with children, Greece has lived with this vote a historic moment
while right-wing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who spoke before the vote before the deputies, saw a day of joy
for his country.
“Starting tomorrow, one more barrier between us will be removed and will become a bridge of coexistence in a free state between free citizens.” A quote from Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece
There was little doubt that the bill would pass due to the support of several left-wing opposition parties.
However, Mr. Mitsotakis was grappling with the rebellion of the most conservative wing of his party, New Democracy (ND), opposed to this reform.
Comfortably re-elected last year, he made same-sex marriage a flagship measure of his second term.
This one significantly improves the lives of our fellow citizens
homosexuals and their children, he ruled, recalling that this is aboutan existing social reality
and that by voting for homosexual marriage, the deputies would lift a serious inequality for our democracy
.
Since 2015, Greece has had a civil union, but it does not offer the same legal guarantees as civil marriage.
The Prime Minister also insisted on the need to put an end to grotesque situations regarding same-sex parenthood.
Indeed, until now, only the biological parent has rights over the child. In the event of the death of one parent, the State withdraws custody from the other parent.
And the children of two fathers cannot obtain identity papers, the name of a mother being obligatory in civil status.
Same-sex couples do not yet have the same legal possibilities to provide their children with what they need, to be able to take them to school, to be able to travel, to go to the doctor or to the hospital
deplored Mr. Mitsotakis.
Important progress
For Konstantinos Androulakis, a 46-year-old Greek married in the United Kingdom to Michael and father of two children aged 6 and 11, Greece lives a historic moment
.
It’s a huge stepping stone
told AFP this London consultant who came to Greece for the occasion, expressing the hope that in the future, the rights of LGTBQ+ people are generally improving in Greece
.
Some, however, deplored that the bill does not grant surrogacy (GPA) to homosexual couples.
Most of the bitter debate which has agitated the country in recent weeks has concerned the question of same-sex parenthood.
Opinion studies have shown that Greeks are generally in favor of homosexual marriage but opposed to adoption by same-sex couples.
In a country with an overwhelming Orthodox majority, the Church was totally opposed to the project.
Children have an innate need and therefore right to grow up with a male father and a female mother
assures the Holy Synod, which sent a missive to all deputies.
However, only around 4,000 opponents, led in particular by Niki, the far-right party close to Russia, met on Sunday in front of parliament, brandishing icons of the Virgin and Christian crosses.
Quite a symbol: in September, Stefanos Kasselakis, who publicly displays his homosexuality and recently married his partner in the United States, took the reins of the left-wing Syriza party, the leading opposition force in Parliament.
