The Greek parliament passed a cross-party vote to introduce same-sex marriage. Prime Minister Mitsotakis spoke of a “day of joy”. But there was massive criticism from the church beforehand.
The Greek Parliament passed the law on civil marriage for same-sex couples with a large majority. This was announced by the parliamentary presidency in Athens. 176 members of the 300-seat parliament voted in favor of the corresponding law presented by the conservative government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In a rare cross-party consensus for Greece, left-wing as well as social democratic and conservative parliamentarians supported the motion. The 76 votes against also came from all parties.
Mitsotakis: Vote according to conscience
Mitsotakis had given MPs from his conservative ruling party New Democracy (ND) the freedom to vote according to their conscience. There were two abstentions. The parliamentary presidium said 46 MPs did not take part in the meeting.
Previously there were sometimes heated discussions in parliament. Smaller ultra-conservative parties, which also represent religious zealots, as well as members of the ruling conservatives, said the law ignored the tradition of Greek society and the teachings of the Christian Orthodox Church.
“We are not deciding on social change here,” said Mitsotakis before the vote in the plenary session: “This change has taken place a long time ago.” Equal access to civil marriage greatly improves the lives of “many of our fellow citizens without – I emphasize – impairing the lives of many people.” People who were previously “invisible” could now become visible – “and with them many children who have finally found their place next to all the others.”
Criticism from the church
According to the new law, homosexual married couples will have the same rights and obligations as heterosexual couples. You can adopt children. Both receive custody, even if the child is biologically from one of the two partners. However, it should remain prohibited for surrogate mothers to give birth to children for homosexual couples.
There had already been massive criticism in advance from the ranks of the Greek Orthodox Church. Some bishops threatened the representatives of their regions to “think carefully about what they decide to do.” The Orthodox Church is enshrined in the Greek constitution as the dominant religion and has strong influence over religiously oriented constituencies.
“Today is a day of joy”
Following the passage of the law, Greece will become the first predominantly Christian Orthodox country to allow civil marriage between people of the same sex. This has so far been possible in 36 countries worldwide, including 16 EU countries.
“In Greece, no one should feel like a second-class citizen. Today is a day of joy,” said Mitsotakis.