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Few Estonian laws have provoked such a fierce controversy as the Registered Partnership Act and, later, the Family Law Act. There have been attempts to equalize the rights of homosexual and heterosexual couples in Estonia for a long time, and it seems that the current government has a chance to finally implement this idea.
In post-Soviet countries, the attitude towards gay marriage is rather cool, and conservative beliefs are quite strong. In the case of Estonia, fear for the survival of the nation is added to this: there are about a million Estonians in the world, and the birth rate, like in other European countries, is quite low. It is not surprising that the topic of family and fertility is not only considered in Estonia in the context of a declining working-age population and future problems with the financing of the pension system, but also has a deeper existential meaning. Which, of course, is widely used by conservative parties.
Progressive but not working law
The Registered Partnership Act, formulated in a gender-neutral way, was adopted by the Estonian parliament back in October 2014, took effect in January 2016, and became the first law to expand the rights of the LGBT+ community in the post-Soviet space. Despite its innovation, it didn’t allow same-sex marriages to be registered, but it gave the same-sex partners a chance to register their relationship by signing an appropriate contract.
Theoretically, the law was supposed to give the Estonian gays and lesbians the same civic rights as the heterosexual people. First of all it was supposed to simplify their property relations, including inheritance issues, although under this law one partner does not automatically inherit property after the death of the other.
The law also allowed delegating the right to make medical decisions, gave the right to apply for social benefits, and even allowed one of the partners to adopt the child of the other (but still did not allow same-sex couples to adopt, for example, a child from an orphanage).
In practice, none of this happened. The fact is that the law does not function without the legal framework that describe its application in specific everyday situations. The legal framework was never adopted because of the lack of votes in parliament, the change of power in the country, and the active opposition of representatives of conservative parties, including, for example, the Minister of Justice from the Isamaa party, Urmas Reinsalu. Accordingly, all this time, the law adopted almost ten years ago did not achieve its goals. Moreover, attempts were repeatedly made to invalidate the law, but they always failed in Parliament.
This year, the situation regarding the rights of LGBT+ people may change radically. For the first time in many years, the most liberal government possible is in power. Since the ruling coalition has a strong majority in parliament, it has a historic opportunity to pass almost any law without regard to the conservatives. One of these is definitely the Family Law Act.
Initially, it was not entirely clear whether the Prime Minister's party would support this act, as some deputies were more likely to adopt implementation acts for the previous law and opposed changing the very legal concept of marriage. However, both coalition partners, the Social Democrats and Estonia 200, supported the new act, according to which marriage is not between a man and a woman, but between two adults.
Sociological surveys show that in Estonia more than half of the population is ready to support same-sex marriage. In any case, this is what the sociological company Turu-Uuringud (traditionally considered more leftist) claims. In early April, it conducted a survey commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs with the support of the Estonian Center for Human Rights. The current 53% support indicates an upward trend, up 6 percentage points from two years ago. Back in 2012, 60% of respondents were against same-sex marriage in Estonia.
According to Liis Grünberg, who led the study, the increase in support was largely due to a change in position among the non-Estonian (mainly Russian-speaking) population. Among them, the proportion of those who support marital equality has increased from 22 to 40% over the past few years. The greatest support for same-sex marriages is found among young people; of those who are not yet thirty, they are welcomed by 75%. According to sociologists, this sends a clear signal to political parties that are counting on success in the future.
Battle in parliament and the media
Despite protests from numerous conservatives, including representatives of the three opposition parties, opinion leaders, and representatives of various religious denominations, in mid-May the government approved a draft act for the amendment of the Family Law Act and other acts to establish marriage equality and implement the Registered Partnership Act.
"The time has come to ensure equal rights for all Estonians. Social change does not happen overnight, but with such changes in the legal space, in a sense technical, but at the same time highly symbolic, the number of people whose voice is set in hostility is sure to decrease. Laws give us a basis and influence our attitude, and the adoption of implementation acts and the legalization of equal marriages is an important step forward in creating a sense of security and ensuring equal rights for everyone," said Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo.
Before the parliamentary discussion, not only representatives of the local conservative intelligentsia spoke out against the new law, but also former politicians, including ex-president Arnold Rüütel and former Prime Minister Mart Laar, who said that a radical change in the Family Law Act without public discussion is unacceptable. Almost immediately, 600 public figures and opinion leaders, including two ex-presidents of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Kersti Kaljulaid, signed an open letter in support of the legalization of same-sex marriages.
"I found this letter in the mailbox. You read and understand that it is adequate, peacefully written, and pleasant to sign. Probably, it came to me because I have recently spoken out about sexual ethics," explains Olga Gerasimenko, one of the first to sign the appeal in support of same-sex marriage, a teacher of sexuality education, and a board member of the Estonian Sexual Health Union.
According to her, the legal framework of the Registered Partnership Act would already partly reduce the existing inequality, but a new law is a much better solution, for the simple reason that it gives a convenient package of rights to people who want to seal their destinies, and people no longer have to deal with these processes separately. Among other things, the new law is intended to give same-sex spouses the right to leave an inheritance and adopt a child on a common basis. "Now these are rather complex processes, and the adoption of implementation acts does not greatly simplify them," says Olga Gerasimenko.
At the end of May, the act passed its first reading, while opposition parties are trying to sabotage the process by submitting more than 700 amendments. Most of them were filed by the ultra-conservative EKRE party.
"There is opposition, and such a simple, understandable step by the government, which is aimed at ensuring that the rights of citizens are actually equal, is met with resistance. People are starting to say that the concept of marriage is changing, and that something is being taken away from those who are married. All these are such injections of micro-aggression, and sometimes real aggression, towards people whose rights our state is trying to protect. I would like that in addition to the actions of the government, there was some kind of public discussion, and progressive voices would be heard", explains Olga Gerasimenko.
No to the referendum
Conservatives, in their public speeches, point out that the new Family Law Act polarizes society, and they repeatedly asked for a referendum on legalizing same-sex marriage. Supporters of the liberal approach consider calls like these inhumane. According to Gerasimenko, it's like holding a referendum on whether to fund expensive treatments for rare diseases.
"Their treatment usually requires a lot of money, but we do not decide whether to treat these diseases or not in referendums. Why? Because those who are not directly affected by this should not make these decisions for those who are affected. When we say let's not tease conservative people; let's not polarize society, we do almost the same thing," she says.
As an argument, Gerasimenko gives an example of what is happening now with same-sex partners during the war in Ukraine: "There is such a standard problem when one of the same-sex partners dies in battle, and they cannot even give the body to the other because there are no legal grounds." Not to mention that there are also economic arguments for legalization: in general, in countries where gay marriage is legalized, the level of general welfare is higher than in those where marital equality is perceived aggressively.
From her point of view, in Estonia there is some basic tolerance in society. "There are, for example, people openly talking about same-sex adoption. There are people who talk about gender non-binary; in general, this is accepted by society, and this is already very cool. Even without implementation acts, this kind of partnership is important for many people. On the other hand, there’s a long way to go in terms of tolerance," she notes.
On the 10th of June, a gay parade took place in Tallinn, in which politicians of the ruling coalition, including ministers, took part. Minister of Education Kristina Kallas, who walked along with LGBT+ representatives in the Old Town, congratulated the Isamaa Party on the election of a new leader: "There is room in Estonia for a modern conservative worldview that would also attract the generations of this century. To achieve this, it would be wise to support marriage equality, as the modern conservative parties of Europe have long done".
The battles in parliament, the media, and social networks continue. The new Act is scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2024.
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