On Tuesday, the Estonian parliament voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage, becoming the first Baltic state to do so.
The move comes just two months after the country’s new liberal coalition government took office. In April, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas promised to introduce the legislation for same-sex marriage “as fast as possible”.
“I’m proud of my country. We’re building a society where everyone’s rights are respected and people can love freely,” Kallas wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
According to her, the law will come into force in 2024.
It's official: #Estonia has legalised marriage equality. We join other Nordic nations with this historic decision.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) June 20, 2023
I'm proud of my country. We're building a society where everyone’s rights are respected and people can love freely.
The decision will enter into force from 2024. pic.twitter.com/tQJdO70eEo
During a vote in Estonia’s Riigikogu, 55 members of parliament voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage and 34 voted against.
“We are proud to become the first Baltic country to legalise same-sex marriage,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said after the vote.
According to the amendments to the Estonian Family Law Act, the institution of marriage will be modified so that any two natural persons of legal age, regardless of gender, may marry. The words “man and woman” will be replaced with “two natural persons”.
Before legalising same-sex marriage, Estonia introduced same-sex civil unions in 2014.
In Lithuania, the same-sex civil union bill passed a second vote in the Seimas at the end of May. The final vote on the adoption of the law is still to take place.
The draft law foresees that the partners forming a civil union would create a common property, if not agreed otherwise, act in each other’s name and in each other’s interests, represent each other in the field of healthcare, and have a right to access information on partner’s health.
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