Greece Parliament Makes Same-Sex Marriages Legal

Greece’s parliament on Thursday passed a bill allowing same-sex civil marriages. Supporters of LGBT rights gathered up on the streets of Athens to celebrate this landmark move.

Greece is one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow same-sex marriages. As per the new law, same-sex couples in Greece now have the right to wed and adopt children.

The bill was approved by 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament of Greece. It will become law when it’s published in the official government gazette.

But members of Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right New Democracy party abstained or voted against the bill.

The powerful Orthodox Church of Greece believes that homosexuality is a sin, and strongly opposed the bill allowing same-sex marriage in the country.