Estonia’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, making history as the first country in Central Europe to pass such legislation.
While same-sex marriage is legally recognized in many Western European countries, the topic is still heavily debated in Central Europe, which was formerly under Communist rule.
“It’s like the state is finally accepting me,” Annely Lepamaa, a 46-year-old who identifies as lesbian, told NBC News. “Until now, I needed to fight for everything. I had to go to court to adopt my own children. ... Now, I’m a human with rights.”
Out of the 101 seats in parliament, the bill received 55 votes, with support stemming from an alliance of liberal and social democratic parties, which Prime Minister Kaja Kallas helped assemble earlier this year.
“My message (to Central Europe) is that it’s a difficult fight, but marriage and love is something that you have to promote,” Kallas told Reuters following the passage of the new law.
“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 added.
Estonians among the LGBTQ+ community will have to wait until 2024, however, for the law to take effect.
The Baltic country contains a population of 1.3 million, and is a largely secular state. In a 2023 poll by the Center for Human Rights, 53% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage, up from 34% a decade ago.
However, half of the gay Estonian population has reported experiencing harassment recently, according to the government.
The ethnic-Russian minority, which makes up about a quarter of the country, still largely opposes same-sex marriage, with only 40% saying they support it.
