Greece legalizes same-sex marriage in landmark change

Greece legalizes same-sex marriage in landmark change

ATHENS — Greece’s parliament approved a bill allowing same-sex civil marriage on Thursday, a landmark victory for supporters of LGBT rights that was greeted with cheers by onlookers in parliament and dozens gathered on the streets of Athens.

The law gives same-sex couples the right to wed and adopt children. It comes after decades of campaigning by the LGBT community for marriage equality in the socially conservative country.

Greece is one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow such unions.

“This is a historic moment,” Stella Belia, the head of same-sex parents group Rainbow Families, told Reuters. “This is a day of joy.”

READ: Greek same-sex wedding bill allows couples to dream, at last

The bill was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament and will become law when published in the official government gazette.

Although members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill, it gained enough support from the leftist opposition in a rare show of cross-party unity despite a tense debate.

“Its a very important step for human rights, a very important step for equality, and a very important step for Greek society,” said 40-year-old Nikos Nikolaidis, a historian who joined a rally in favor of the bill ahead of the vote.

Recent opinion polls show Greeks are split on the issue. The powerful Orthodox Church, which believes homosexuality is a sin, has strongly opposed same-sex marriage, while many in the LGBT community believe the bill does not go far enough.

READ: Greek Parliament legalizes same-sex civil partnerships

It does not overturn obstacles for LGBT couples in using assisted reproduction methods. Surrogate pregnancies will also not be extended to LGBT individuals, though the bill recognizes children already born through that method abroad.

Elliniki Lysi, one of

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