The Government of Greece is on the brink of introducing legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage, a significant step in the country’s ongoing efforts to advance LGBTQ rights initiated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis since taking office in 2019.
The Government of Greece is set to propose legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, a move initiated by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who has been actively pushing for LGBTQ rights since assuming office in 2019.
Although Greece currently permits same-sex civil unions, these lack the comprehensive rights afforded to married couples, such as adoption and parental recognition.
Complicating matters, the recognition of gender identity in Greece involves a complex judicial process, and discrimination issues emerged during the pandemic.
Same-sex couples in the country face restrictions on marriage and adoption, while the ban on conversion therapy is criticized for excluding adults requiring their consent —a measure that LGBTQI+ advocates argue effectively legalizes practices deemed “torturous” by the United Nations. Notably, internships related to conversion therapy are limited to paid health professionals, sidelining religious and other counselors who often engage in such practices.
The upcoming legislation is anticipated to garner support from key left-leaning opposition parties like Syriza. However, some conservative members of Prime Minister Mitsotakis’s New Democracy party have expressed potential opposition or abstention.
Despite significant backing among the younger demographic, as indicated by polls conducted in 2022 by the Eteron and Dianeosis institutes, which revealed majority support for essential LGBTQI+ reforms, pockets of opposition persist.
In 2022, seven priests addressed a letter to Mitsotakis, expressing their protest against a television advertisement promoting same-sex marriage. The priests asserted a traditional Christian perspective, emphasizing the binary nature of male and female sexes, stating, “Christians (…) know that God created two sexes, male and female. There is no third sex.”
As Greece navigates this legislative landscape, the potential legalization of homosexual marriage remains a subject of debate, reflecting a diverse range of opinions within the country.
