Same-sex couples race to wed after historic vote

Greek LGBT+ couples were preparing to tie the knot on Friday, one day after a historic parliamentary vote made same-sex civil marriage legal, the culmination of decades of campaigning for equal rights.

MPs overnight approved a bill that will also allow same-sex couples to adopt children, making socially conservative Greece one of the first Orthodox Christian countries to allow such unions.

The bill was passed with the support of 176 MPs from both sides of the political spectrum.

The law, celebrated by dozens of people on the streets of Athens but opposed by the Orthodox Church and many right-wing politicians, will take a few days to become official.

That has not stopped couples, many who have waited years to get married, to make the first steps.

A gay couple in Athens on Friday announced their plan to wed, required for all marriages under Greek law, in the Ta Nea daily

They contacted the municipality of Nea Smyrni in Athens last week asking for the necessary supporting documents, said Constantinos Anagnostopoulos, a vice mayor in charge of civil marriages in the municipality told state TV.

“From here on, we’ll follow the ministry’s guidelines … to go ahead and run the first wedding,” he said.

The marriage is likely to take place one the law has appeared in the Government Gazette and possible ministerial decisions that will clarify procedural issues are issued. [Reuters]