Greek Parliament votes to legalize same-sex marriage
In Athens, Parliament is preparing to legalize same-sex marriage this Thursday, February 15. Greece should thus become the first country with an Orthodox majority to implement marriage for all, nine years after the establishment of a Civil Pact (the equivalent of the PACS in France). From now on, same-sex couples will, for example, have the right to adopt children.
A large LGBT flag during Gay Pride in Athens in 2019. © ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
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With our correspondent in Athens,
Joël Bronner
The influential Orthodox Church said, at the end of January, that it was “
totally opposed
” to this development in society, which the most traditionalist fringe of the Greek right does not want either. By pushing dissident MPs to abstain in the vote and relying on the votes of the left-wing opposition, the conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will nevertheless allow Greece
to
become the 16th country of the Union European Union
to recognize gay marriage
.
The difference will be especially significant for homosexual couples with a child. Currently, in the event of the death of the biological parent, the state automatically removes custody of the children from their other parent. When their children become ill, non-biological parents have no right to decide on necessary medical procedures for them. And children cannot inherit from their non-biological parents either. As for the children of two fathers, they cannot even be registered in the civil registry where it is obligatory to register the name of a mother.
“
Whether you are heterosexual or homosexual, what matters is equal rights
”
Petros and Savvas, a couple for ten years and under the same roof for three, see this vote as a historic step forward. “
Of course, this does not concern us yet, but for all homosexual couples in Greece who already have a child at the moment, this law is of paramount importance for that child. This is the heart of the battle: whether you are heterosexual or homosexual, what matters is equal rights. In my eyes, this is comparable to gender equality. Today, women can work, they have the right to vote. For me, this homosexual marriage is an evolution of the same order.
»
More than just a couple, Greek law is on the verge of offering Petros and Savvas the right to form a family.
Also read: Ten years of marriage for all in France: “In the eyes of the law, we have become legitimate to love each other”
(And with
AFP
)
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