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Estonia Parliament passes bill allowing gender-neutral marriage – JURIST

Estonia’s Parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a bill Monday to allow gender-neutral marriage in the country. The bill was sent to President Alar Karis for approval on Tuesday. Estonia is the first Baltic nation and the first former Soviet Union nation to legalize gender-neutral or same-sex marriage.The bill defines marriage as being between two people of legal age—regardless of sex or gender. The bill also allows a “cohabitation” option for couples, which will allow much of the same privileges of marriage, with an accessible process to transition from a state-sanctioned “cohabitation” to a marriage. The bill also protects the inheritance rights of children raised in a same-sex marriage, as well as the adoption rights of same-sex couples.The Riigikogu celebrated the bill, calling it a “fully realized” version of previously passed laws such as the Cohabitation Act passed in 2014. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas also lauded the milestone the bill represents in European history, saying, “We join other Nordic nations with this historic decision. I’m proud of my country. We’re building a society where everyone’s rights are respected and people can love freely.”LGBTQIA+ people in Estonia celebrated the decision, with Annely Lepamaa, a lesbian living in Estonia, telling Reuters, “Until now, I needed to fight for everything. I had to go to court to adopt my own children, which is like, why? Now, I’m a human with rights.”The Estonian Human Rights Centre conducted a poll in May, which found that over half of the country supported same-sex or gender-neutral marriage. The poll also found a significant increase in support for LGBTQIA+ people since 2012. Executive Director for the Human Rights Centre Egert Rünne stated, “Support of marriage equality among people aged 20-29 is 75%. This is a clear message to political parties: if they want to attract younger voters, they have to stand up for the human rights of all people in Estonia.”Other Baltic countries have struggled to build political coalitions to support same-sex or gender-neutral marriage. Latvia currently allows “civil unions,” which confer some of the same rights as marriage onto same-sex couples. However, a bill that would extend the right to marriage has been stuck in the country’s Parliament for some time. This is despite Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics being the first openly LGBTQIA+ head of state in the EU. Lithuania has also struggled to affirm same-sex or gender-neutral marriage, currently only recognizing same-sex marriage from outside of the country. Lithuania also has a bill that would allow same-sex marriage stuck in Parliament for a lengthy period.Assuming Karis approves the bill, it will become law in Estonia in 2024.