Estonia Becomes First Country in Central Europe to Legalize Same-sex Marriage
Translator
Editor
22 June 2023 11:29 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Estonia has issued a law legalizing same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. The bill received 55 votes in the 101-seat parliament.
In a message addressed to Central Europe, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday it is a difficult fight, but marriage and love is something that you have to promote.
"We have developed a lot in those 30 years, since we have freed ourselves from the (Soviet) occupation. We are equals among same-value countries," she told Reuters after the vote on Tuesday, June 20.
Same-sex marriage is legal in much of Western Europe but not in central European countries that were once under communist rule and members of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact alliance, but are now members of NATO and, largely, the EU.
Despite the legalization, 38 percent of Estonians still consider homosexuality to be unacceptable. Same-sex marriage is opposed by the ethnic-Russian minority, which constitutes a quarter of the country, with only 40 percent of them supporting it.
REUTERS | DANIEL A. FAJRI
Editor's Choice: U.S. Congress Passes Landmark Bill Protecting Same-sex Marriage
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
