Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

On 15 February 2024, the Greek parliament voted to legalize same-sex civil marriage, making Greece the first Orthodox Christian majority country to do so. The bill was introduced by the center-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and passed by 176 votes to 76, with the support of several opposition parties, although some members of the governing New Democracy party voted against it. The law allowed same-sex couples to marry in civil ceremonies and to adopt children. It did not allow same-sex male couples to use surrogacy. Greece had already recognized same-sex civil partnerships in 2015. The Church of Greece strongly opposed the reform, and some conservative groups held protests, while supporters celebrated outside parliament in Syntagma Square. Mitsotakis described the law as a step for equality, saying it would remove a serious inequality. Supporters welcomed it as a major advance for LGBTQ rights in Greece and in southeastern Europe, where same-sex marriage was not legal in most countries. The law made Greece the 16th member of the European Union to legalize same-sex marriage.