A Step Toward Greater Equality in the Baltics
Andres Burgos
Coordinator, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program
Annual gay pride parade in Tallinn, Estonia, July 8, 2017. © 2017 yegorovnick/Shutterstock
In a significant step toward greater equality, Estonia’s parliament voted Tuesday in favor of new legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, making it the first Baltic country to do so.
The bill expands existing partnership recognition in Estonia by amending the 2016 Family Law Act, which allowed for same-sex civil unions and recognized same-sex marriages performed abroad. Under the new legislation, which will come into force on January 1, 2024, same-sex couples will also have the option to marry and adopt children.
The bill was approved on Tuesday, June 20 in a 55-34 decision within the 101-seat parliament.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, leader of the center-right Reform Party, successfully created a liberal-oriented coalition to cement a parliamentary majority with the centrist Estonia 200 Party and Social Democrat Party earlier this year. The coalition has taken a strong pro-Ukraine, pro-European Union stance — and one that supports same-sex marriage rights.
In Estonia, support for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has gained traction, according to a recent poll conducted by the Estonian Human Rights Centre. The poll shows 53 percent of Estonians support marriage equality, up from only 34 percent in 2012.
Still, many LGBT persons in Estonia face harassment and discrimination. Comparatively, legislation recognizing same-sex partnerships in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania has not progressed.
In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to extend the option of marriage to same-sex couples. Today, Estonia joins 34 other countries that have already embraced marriage equality. Eleven additional countries allow civil unions for same-sex couples. Estonia has set an example for other Central European nations in extending marriage equality.
Estonia passes law to allow same-sex marriage
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says she is ‘proud of Estonia’ after the bill received 55 votes in the 101-seat parliament.
Estonia’s Parliament has passed a law to legalise same-sex marriage, making it the first Central European country to do so.
The bill received 55 votes in the 101-seat parliament with 34 votes against.
“This is a decision that does not take anything away from anyone but gives something important to many,” Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said after the vote on Tuesday.
“Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love and want to commit to,” Kallas added, saying she was “proud of Estonia”.
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 now are members of NATO and, largely, the EU.
Same-sex couples have been able to enter a civil union in Estonia since 2014. But it has taken until now for parliament to fix legal loopholes that prevented same-sex partners from enjoying the same benefits as heterosexual couples.
In the largely secular Baltic country of 1.3 million people, 53 percent of the population supported same-sex marriage in a 2023 poll by the Centre for Human Rights. A decade ago, the number was 34 percent.
However, 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.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says she is ‘proud of Estonia’ after the bill received 55 votes in the 101-seat parliament.
Revellers take part in a Baltic gay pride parade in Riga, Latvia
[File: Ilmars Znotins/AFP]
Published On 20 Jun 2023
Published On 20 Jun 2023
Estonia’s Parliament has passed a law to legalise same-sex marriage, making it the first Central European country to do so.
The bill received 55 votes in the 101-seat parliament with 34 votes against.
“This is a decision that does not take anything away from anyone but gives something important to many,” Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said after the vote on Tuesday.
“Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love and want to commit to,” Kallas added, saying she was “proud of Estonia”.
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 now are members of NATO and, largely, the EU.
Same-sex couples have been able to enter a civil union in Estonia since 2014. But it has taken until now for parliament to fix legal loopholes that prevented same-sex partners from enjoying the same benefits as heterosexual couples.
In the largely secular Baltic country of 1.3 million people, 53 percent of the population supported same-sex marriage in a 2023 poll by the Centre for Human Rights. A decade ago, the number was 34 percent.
However, 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.
‘Good opportunity’
Gay people in Estonia tend to remain discreet about their identity, and half have experienced harassment recently, according to the government.
“This was a good opportunity for the government because the public opinion on same-sex marriage has turned to positive, and after this year’s election, it has the numbers to overcome the conservative opposition,” said Tomas Jermalavicius, head of studies at the International Centre for Defence and Security.
Latvia and Lithuania, the other two Baltic countries, which were annexed by the Soviet Union, have same-sex partnership bills stuck in their parliaments.
Annely Lepamaa, a lesbian, told the Reuters news agency that it felt like the state was “finally accepting me”.
“Until now, I needed to fight for everything. I had to go to court to adopt my own children, which is like, why?” the 46-year-old said. “Now, I’m a human with rights.”
Speaking to Reuters after the vote, Lepamaa’s partner of six years, Eeva Koplimets, 36, proposed they should get married.
“Yeah, we are switching [to marriage]. We made our decision on TV!” she said.
Gay people in Estonia tend to remain discreet about their identity, and half have experienced harassment recently, according to the government.
“This was a good opportunity for the government because the public opinion on same-sex marriage has turned to positive, and after this year’s election, it has the numbers to overcome the conservative opposition,” said Tomas Jermalavicius, head of studies at the International Centre for Defence and Security.
Latvia and Lithuania, the other two Baltic countries, which were annexed by the Soviet Union, have same-sex partnership bills stuck in their parliaments.
Annely Lepamaa, a lesbian, told the Reuters news agency that it felt like the state was “finally accepting me”.
“Until now, I needed to fight for everything. I had to go to court to adopt my own children, which is like, why?” the 46-year-old said. “Now, I’m a human with rights.”
Speaking to Reuters after the vote, Lepamaa’s partner of six years, Eeva Koplimets, 36, proposed they should get married.
“Yeah, we are switching [to marriage]. We made our decision on TV!” she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment