Greece legalizes same-sex marriage

What happened?

Greece's parliament late Thursday legalized same-sex marriage in a rare cross-party 176-76 vote, making Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law. Same-sex couples now have full parental and adoption rights but can't become parents through surrogacy.

Who said what?

"Greece is proud to become the 16th EU country to legislate marriage equality," center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on X. "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values."

The commentary

Polls show Greeks support the marriage reforms "by a narrow margin," The Associated Press said. But the law's approval came only after "weeks of public rancor," The Guardian said. "Orthodox bishops had threatened to excommunicate lawmakers" who voted in favor, and the leader of the far-right Spartans party said the law "would 'open the gates to hell and perversion.'"

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What next?

Mitsotakis' support for the bill, despite "significant opposition" from his party, will allow him to "further encroach on the territory of centrists and liberals," Politico said.