No party stick on same-sex marriage
PM urges dissenters to abstain, not cause ‘a problem’ for majority in passing thorny legislation
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis opened his cards regarding a contentious bill being drafted by the government on same-sex marriage in an interview with state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday, saying he will not raise the issue of discipline on an issue that is a matter of “conscience.”
He stressed, however, that “both myself and those who believe in this bill have to convince our MPs and possibly persuade some who may have a negative attitude.”
Given that some will not change their minds, he urged dissenting MPs to abstain and not vote against the bill, which will help the government pass the legislation as the majority will be calculated based on the number of lawmakers present.
“There are many parliamentary options,” Mitsotakis said, adding that “abstaining is a dignified way for someone to express their disagreement, i.e. not to vote in favor, without creating a problem for the government majority.”
His position regarding ministers who may oppose the bill, however, was less clear, as he said that “when one is a minister there is a greater commitment to a collective decision taken by the cabinet.”
Regarding the timing of the bill, Mitsotakis said that since he is opening the debate, he obviously does not plan to defer the issue much longer.
He also gave a detailed explanation of the bill’s content, noting how the issue concerns “some of our fellow citizens very much.”
More specifically, he noted that the bill legislates marriage equality by removing any discrimination in terms of sexual orientation and that “it does not bring something revolutionary, but something that is in force in 20 countries, including 15 in the EU.”
He also made it clear that “we are talking about civil marriage, we are not talking about church, about rice, or anything like that.”
Regarding the Church’s stated opposition, he said that he respects “those who have a different opinion” but noted that the Church does not legislate.
The PM also said the bill is focused on children and their rights, pointing out that there are children living in families with same-sex parents today.
He also said the bill will not provide for any changes to the existing laws on assisted reproduction and surrogacy.
