Greece just got one big step closer to marriage equality

This blog originally appeared at LGBTQ Nation.

The conservative Greek government has garnered support for its same-sex marriage bill from liberal lawmakers.

Just days after hesitating on a timeline to introduce legislation to legalize gay marriage in Greece, the recently reelected center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis received a significant boost for his campaign pledge with the endorsement of gay opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis.

The legislation, revealed on Wednesday, faces strong opposition from a faction within Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party, other right-leaning lawmakers in the Greek Parliament, and the Greek Orthodox Church. However, support from the left-leaning Syriza party’s 38 members would secure its passage.

Kasselakis stated that he would overlook “imperfections” in the bill and would instruct his party to vote for the proposal, even though it maintains a prohibition on surrogacy for gay couples seeking parenthood. A prior draft legislation presented by Syriza earlier in the week would have granted this right to same-sex couples.

The leader of Syriza emphasized the “positive elements” of the legislation and criticized the right-wing New Democracy lawmakers opposing the bill for what he called their “political cowardice.”

Kasselakis rose to prominence in September after his unexpected election as the leader of the left-leaning opposition party. The 35-year-old former Goldman Sachs banker married his American husband, Tyler McBeth, in the U.S. in October.

“When this draft law comes to parliament,” Kasselakis told Star TV in Greece, “it will be approved thanks to Syriza.”

While surrogacy remains restricted for gay couples in the proposed bill, full parental rights would be extended to same-sex parents who already have children.

“We won’t change the law on assisted parenthood,” Prime Minister Mitsotakis declared, addressing the issue publicly for the first time on Wednesday evening. He emphasized that same-sex couples would still be able to adopt children.

The prime minister pointed to the challenges faced by the children of gay couples, who lack recognition under Greek law, as a driving force behind the proposed change. Greece legalized same-sex civil partnerships in 2015.

A recent poll indicates that 49% of Greeks are against legalizing same-sex unions, while 35% are in favor. A majority also opposes granting full parental rights to gay or lesbian couples. The Church’s objections to extending marriage rights to same-sex couples are centered around concerns about gay parents raising children.