Estonia was the first post-Soviet country to legalize same-sex marriage

Estonia is the first post-Soviet country to legalize same-sex marriage, reports the Riikikogu, the local parliament. The law will come into force on January 1, 2024.

In addition to marriage, the law also provides for the conclusion of a cohabitation agreement.

Also, from January 1, same-sex couples will be able to adopt their spouse's children with the consent of the second biological father or mother.

Since 2016, Estonia has had a “Cohabitation Law”, according to which same-sex couples could already register a civil union.

Estonia has become the second country in Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex marriage. Last year in Slovenia, the parliament passed amendments legalizing same-sex marriage and the adoption of children by same-sex families.

Researchers say approval of marriage equality is falling

• Company Ipsos conducted a quantitative sociological study of attitudes towards LGBTQ+ residents of 30 countries, including European countries.

• The results indicate declining levels of approval for marriage and guardianship among queer couples in most of these countries.

• The researchers highlight that in most of the countries from which they collected data over a decade, approval rates for same-sex marriage and guardianship among same-sex couples rose steadily until 2021, but have either fallen or stagnated since then.