Athens, Greece
CNN
—
The Greek parliament passed a law on Thursday legalizing same-sex marriage, marking a historic victory for human rights in Greece and making the country the first predominantly Orthodox Christian country to establish marriage equality for all.
The decision, supported by 176 out of 300 MPs in Parliament and 76 against, followed months of polarized political and public debate and was welcomed as a long-awaited vindication by the country’s LGBTQ+ couples.
“This is an important step for human rights, like Greece today – a progressive and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a message on X after the vote.
Andrea Gilbert, founding member of Athens Pride, is now approaching her 20th birthdayth year, told CNN: “We started as an invisible and marginalized community. We continued to vote. I paid our taxes. Campaigned. Legislation provides a legal basis on which to build further. This is especially important for young couples.
The rights of parents and children form the cornerstone of the legislation, which will allow same-sex couples to adopt and benefit from full parental recognition.
Although Greece introduced civil partnerships for same-sex couples almost a decade ago under the left-wing Syriza government, only the biological parents of children from such relationships were recognized as legal guardians. Now, same-sex parents can both be recognized as legal parents of their children.
“The new law will finally provide same-sex parents with some peace of mind on fundamental issues, including parental rights towards a surviving parent in the event of the death of their partner,” said Katerina Trimmi, member of the Greek National Commission of human rights and lawyer of the organization Rainbow Families. She noted, however, that these parents will have to go through formal adoption procedures, saying parental rights could have been established “in a simpler way.”
Same-sex couples can now also adopt in Greece, but cannot have a baby through a surrogate mother. As in much of the EU, surrogacy remains a thorny issue and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who presented the bill as “an issue of equality”, made clear early on that it is not wasn’t a subject he was prepared to discuss. “The idea of women being turned into machines to produce children on demand… that’s not going to happen.” »
Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks in Parliament on February 15.
However, the new legislation recognizes the status of existing children, including those adopted or born to surrogate mothers abroad.
Outside the Athens Parliament on Thursday, members of the LGBTQ+ community told CNN that for the first time they felt considered as lawmakers ready to vote on the bill. Sergio Berezovski, 20, a computer engineering student, described the vote as a “real historic moment”, adding: “I can actually go out, be myself and have the same rights as the rest of society.” I just feel seen – that’s the most important part.
Preparing for the vote was an uphill battle and high emotions. This was never going to be easy. In Greece, the push came from a center-right party with many of its voters supporting traditional family values.
Fifteen of the 27 members of the European Union have already legalized same-sex marriage and Mitsotakis, empowered by a recent new mandate, stuck to his guns to pass the bill, signaling his intention to bring his government more in line with the most progressive forces in the EU. .
Polls show that Greek society remains, at its core, a country of traditional family values and structures, while it continues to lag behind other Western countries when it comes to gender equality. In 2022, Athens ranked last in the EU Gender Equality Index, with a slight improvement in 2023.
A recent poll by Metron Analysis showed that although 62% of respondents said they were in favor of same-sex marriage, 69% were against same-sex parenting. Surveys conducted exclusively among young people interviewed showed higher rates of support.
The same-sex marriage bill has angered the influential Greek Orthodox Church, to which more than 80% of the population belongs.
In a letter to Greece’s 300 parliamentarians before the vote, the church’s governing body said the bill places the rights of gay adults above the interests of future children, allowing them “to be parents of same-sex couples and growing up.” without a father or mother in an environment of confused gender roles.
Milos Bicanski/Getty Images
Orthodox Greeks took part in a protest against the legislation on February 15 in Athens.
Senior bishops have threatened mobilizations. At a protest rally outside Parliament, demonstrators holding crucifixes, including robed priests, joined far-right supporters in chanting: “Don’t touch our children.”
The center-right New Democracy government that sponsored the bill failed to win the support of some of its 158 politicians in the 300-seat parliament, requiring votes from opposition parties from the center and from the left for the bill to be adopted.
Alexis Rafailides, a 21-year-old computer science student, said Thursday’s vote was important because there was “so much” discrimination against the community in Greece. “I didn’t feel like I could be myself for so long until I met more people who looked like me,” he said.
Days into his second term, buoyed by a landslide election victory that saw the center-left suffer catastrophic losses, Mitsotakis pledged his support for same-sex marriage legislation.
The rise of Stefanos Kasselakis, an openly gay Greek-American political unknown whose communications skills helped propel him to the helm of Syriza, the main opposition party, in September, may have served as a coup political thumb. “I felt like Mitsotakis was giving progressive forces a carrot that he would use at the appropriate time, but without providing details,” Kasselakis said.
Accompanied by his long-time American partner Tyler McBeth throughout his campaign, Kasselakis maintained his same-sex relationship in the eyes of the Greek public.
In October, the couple married in the United States. Speaking to Greek media at the time, Kasselakis sparked further controversy: “We would like to have two boys, Apollo and Elias… through a surrogate mother. »
He said the new law was a step in the right direction. ” I have been very lucky. I have lived in very open societies. But this is not the case for everyone in Greece.”
Stelios Pandazopoulos, 48, told CNN he never considered marriage, “because I never had the chance.” I wasn’t allowed to think about it. It was a right for others. This vote is “the first time that I feel a little more complete, a little more human, a little more equal,” added the architect.
The political moment is important beyond Greece’s borders. The legislation brings the country closer to 20 other European countries and boosts its human rights reputation ahead of the upcoming European elections. It also helps distance the ruling party from recent allegations of wiretapping opponents, pushing back migrants and rolling back media freedom. Greece ranks last among EU countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index established by Reporters Without Borders.
However, there is a political risk. The last Greek elections saw the far right gain strength, with the entry of three marginal parties into Parliament. Together, they hold a bloc of more than 30 seats. All three voted against the same-sex marriage law, and the legislation could further push some angry voters to the right ahead of June’s European elections.
For activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community like Angelo, 24, who left his village near the farming town of Karditsa to live with his boyfriend in Athens and who refused to give his last name “to be sure that his family does not find him.” ”, a battle in their native country – the cradle of democracy – has been won.
This is breaking news. More details to come.
