ATHENS, 16 Feb. Greek Parliament late at night voted in favor of the same-sex marriage law on Thursday, the chairman of the meeting said.
«254 deputies took part in the voting. 176 deputies voted for (the adoption of the law — ed.), 76 were against, 2 deputies abstained. The law was adopted,» he said.
The discussion of the law and the vote was broadcast live by the parliamentary television channel. The vote was by roll call and took place after two days of discussion.
There are 300 deputies in parliament. Of the nine factions, the ruling New Democracy party, the opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, PASOK, the New Left and the Freedom Course of ex-speaker of parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou supported the adoption of the law. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the right-wing parties «Greek Solution» and «Niki» («Victory»), and the far-right party «Spartiates» were against it.
The bill was not supported by all members of the ruling New Democracy, and most of those who disagreed did not participate in the vote.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that he decided not to demand compliance with the issue of party discipline and a mandatory vote for the bill, since it is “a matter of conscience.” At the same time, he called on deputies of the faction who do not agree with the law not to participate in the vote, so as not to create problems during its adoption.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras spoke out against it, he said that marriage for same-sex couples is not a fundamental human right, it destroys the traditional family. Samaras said he would vote against it. «The Same-Sex Couples Bill is a sea change in family law. Before the big vote, I'll ask you to forget everything else and listen to your conscience. Think about what you're going to vote for. The government doesn't feel threatened by the opposition, but that's not necessarily a good thing.» , and that doesn't mean they're always right,» he said
“Even the European courts have ruled that marriage is not a human right that is being violated,” the former prime minister pointed out.
According to him, among other things, it was said that the Greek parliament should vote for this bill because “we belong to the West.” «We should not confuse the West with its pathogens. In the West, too, there are countries that have rejected this. There are countries that are rethinking it. In some Western countries, the culture of awakening (woke), the culture of deconstructing everything is dominant. Are you sure you want us imitated everything that some Western countries vote for? Belonging to the West does not mean that you imitate every fad. Reading fairy tales about transvestites to children in primary school or kindergarten is not “cultural propaganda,” said Antonis Samaras, emphasizing that all this has nothing to do with the ideas of the New Democracy party.
The bill caused a mixed reaction in society — the Greek Orthodox Church opposed it and sent an appeal “To the People” outlining its position. The Church does not agree with marriage and adoption of children for same-sex couples. The Greek Church rejects same-sex marriage; it believes that the bill abolishes not only Christian values and family tradition, but also the rights of future children, and undermines Christian marriage and the institution of the traditional Greek family. “A traditional Christian family consists of a father, mother and children, and in this family children grow up learning motherhood and fatherhood, which will be the most important elements in their further development,” say the hierarchs.
Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogeia and Lavraeotica, speaking at the Synod on the issue of same-sex marriage outlining the position of the church, stated that LGBT* (recognized as an extremist movement in Russia and prohibited — ed.) took the form of “a persistent and aggressive proselytizing ideology, often having an obvious anti-religious and atheistic overtones,” increasingly, individuals who identify themselves as members of the LGBT* community occupy high responsible positions in public life, for example, parliamentarians, senators, ministers, prime ministers, and presidents of states. “The LGBT* movement has taken on the dimensions of fashion and is now spreading like a swift current in the sea of public life, carrying everything along with it. The LGBT* movement is perhaps the most powerful lobby in the world,” the Metropolitan said, noting that the promotion of same-sex relationships and marriage is accompanied by targeted disinformation — falsification of statistics, distortion of data, scientific assessments, and so on, and each counter-argument is characterized as homophobic.
GOVERNMENT IS FOR ADOPTION OF THE LAW However, the Greek government believes that the law on same-sex marriage protects human rights, despite the position of the Church.< br>
Prime Minister Mitsotakis opined that the civil marriage equality law “aims to achieve equality for all citizens”, but above all it aims “to protect the children of same-sex parents who already exist”, since these children should have the same rights as all other children. According to Mitsotakis, the new law adds rights to some, but does not take away any rights from many.
The government said the bill is not revolutionary, it will not include the words “parent 1”, “parent 2”, and does not provide for “assisted reproduction” , that is, turning women into child-producing machines.» In Greece, it will not be allowed to use a surrogate mother to have a child, Mitsotakis clarified.
* Extremist organization banned in Russia