Greece Legalises Same-Sex Marriage Amidst Divided Nation
Greece has become the first Christian-Orthodox majority country to legalise same-sex marriages after a bill was passed yesterday in the Greek parliament.
This marks a landmark change for the LGBT community, which has been advocating profusely for marriage equality in the socially conservative country.
The bill, approved in the Greek parliament yesterday by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament, grants same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children.
Once the approved bill is published in the government gazette, it will officially become law.
While some members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party either abstained from voting or opposed the bill, it garnered sufficient backing from the leftist opposition. This demonstrated a rare display of cross-party unity despite a tense debate.
Mitsotakis said the new law would “boldly abolish a serious inequality,” adding that “people who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us, and with them, may children will finally find their rightful peace.”
Despite the win for the LGBT community, the bill divided the entire nation and was met with a lot of criticism, kick-starting a fierce resistance movement spearheaded by the highly influential Greek Orthodox Church.
Elliniki Lysi, one of the three far-right parties represented in parliament, described the bill as “anti-Christian”, adding that it goes against national interests.
Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, a New Democracy lawmaker, said that same-sex marriage is not a human right.
Do you think this was a step in the right direction for Greece?
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