Greece has become the world’s first Christian Orthodox nation to legalise same-sex marriage after the Athens parliament passed the landmark reform amid scenes of both jubilation and fury in the country.
In a rare display of parliamentary consensus, 176 MPs from across the political spectrum voted in favour of the bill on Thursday night. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community, many unable to contain their emotion, watched from the galleries above.
“We have waited years for this,” said the prominent gay activist Stella Belia of legislation that will not only allow same-sex couples to exchange vows in civil ceremonies but also to adopt children.
“It’s a historic moment. A lot of us weren’t sure it would ever come,” she said.
The vote followed two days of heated debate – and weeks of public rancour – with the reform described by supporters as “bold” and “long overdue” and decried as “antisocial’ and “unchristian” by opponents including the powerful Orthodox church.
Despite facing formidable pushback from within his own centre-right New Democracy party, prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had championed the bill, saying it would end a “serious inequality for our democracy”.
In an impassioned speech before the vote, the 55-year-old leader, who belongs to the liberal faction of his party, said the measure would align Greece with 36 countries globally that had already legislated on the issue. Conservatism, he argued, should not be conflated with antiquated views that were out of sync with modern society.
“The reform that we are legislating today ... will make the life of some of our fellow citizens that much better without – and I emphasise this – taking away anything from the lives of the many,” said Mr Mitsotakis, adding that the law would confer full parental rights on same-sex couples.
“We are covering a gap by allowing everyone, if they wish, to institutionally seal their relationship ... just as heterosexual couples do.”
But resistance had been strong from New Democracy MPs aware of their constituents in the socially conservative nation.
Highlighting the opposition, the former prime minister Antonis Samaras had told parliament earlier on Thursday that same-sex marriage was not a human right and the “dangerous” law should not have been introduced.
Without the backing of Syriza, the main opposition leftist party led by Stefanos Kasselakis, Greece’s first gay political leader, and other smaller groups, the reform would not have passed.
Yet while three opposition parties voted in favour, the law also faced criticism for not going far enough. Describing the bill as “imperfect”, Syriza deplored the fact that it still banned same-sex couples from achieving parenthood through surrogacy – an option Mr Kasselakis has acknowledged he would like to pursue with his American husband, Tyler McBeth.
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups had also criticised the bill saying far from ending discrimination, the law’s limitations – allowing only single women and straight couples to have access to assisted reproduction – as well as “the hate speech” that had engulfed so much of the debate had left many in the community feeling traumatised.
“The legislation itself is so problematic and the language that we have heard so offensive that rather than wanting to celebrate, a lot of people feel quite numb,” said Elena Christidi, a psychologist and co-founder of the Orlando group which advocates for LGBTQI mental health services.
“It’s been devastating for gay men and trans people who want to have children ... once again they’ve been left with the feeling that the state has judged them not to be good enough to have the same rights as others.”
Orthodox bishops had threatened to excommunicate lawmakers who voted for the measure while the leader of the far-right Spartans party had said the law would “open the gates to hell and perversion”.
The group was one of four parties – also including the communist KKE party – that overwhelmingly rejected the bill. All four insisted that if they had their way, the “monstrous” legislation would be nullified.
But Mr Mitsotakis insisted that as of Friday barriers would be removed.
For far too long, he said, gay people had remained “invisible,” oppressed by their families and social environment in villages and towns. “They were, let’s not kid ourselves, the children of a lesser god,” he told MPs, visibly moved.
Within minutes of the vote’s passage on Thursday night, the Greek leader posted on X: “The vote has passed: as of tonight Greece is proud to become the 16th EU country to legislate marriage equality.
“This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece – a progressive and democratic country, passionately committed to European values.” – Guardian