Greece Legalizes Same-Sex Civil Marriage

Greece has become the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from Church officials. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right government. Another 76 rejected the reform while two abstained from the vote and 46 were not present for the vote. The new law recognizes parental rights for same-sex couples, but will not allow gay men to acquire biological children through surrogate mothers in Greece.