LGBTIQA+ rights in Greece took a big leap forward this week with the country’s parliament passing new laws that allow for same-sex marriage and granting same-sex adoption rights too.
The move saw Greece become the first Orthodox Christian country to embrace marriage equality.
The parliament voted along party lines on a bill put forward by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of the centre-right New Democracy Party. The move was opposed by conservative parties and the country’s influential Greek Orthodox Church.
When it came time for the vote 176 MPs voted in favour, two abstained, 76 voted against the change and 46 were absent from the parliament.
“This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today’s Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values,” the Prime Minister wrote on social media after the vote. Greece is the sixteenth country in Europe to allow same-sex marriage.
OIP Staff
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