Recognition of gay unions in Estonia

There is currently no legal recognition of either same-sex marriage or civil unions in Estonia. However, the launch of a new Family Law proposal by the Estonian Ministry of Justice, which explicitly declared marriage to be an institution between a man and a woman, provoked a public debate on this issue starting from December 2005. The public debate was called by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which said it had reservations about the draft law.

The public debate brought about a significant response from LGBT rights groups, which opposed the Family Law proposal and urged the government to not discriminate between same-sex and heterosexual couples in marriage, stating that, "We call on the government to drop a clause in the draft law on the family, which does not allow the registration of same-sex marriages or partnerships". On January 4, 2006, five Estonian NGOs supporting gay rights issued a press release asking for the government to draft a new partnership law that would give same-sex couples equal rights with heterosexual couples.^[1]

On the other hand, various conservative politicians claimed that Estonia was not yet ready for same-sex marriage, and that there is no need to create a separate law on same-sex unions since existing laws already imply the protection of some of these unions (even though there is no explicit legal mention of same-sex unions). Väino Linde, the chief of the Constitution Commission of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament), stated that he is "glad to see the conservative views in the Parliament and in the Commission of Constitution".^[2]

So far in the public debate, the Social Democratic Party has been the only political party to publicly affirm its support of same-sex marriage. The Centre Party and the Reform Party have said that they would tolerate such a law, but have as of yet offered no statement of support. Various right-wing parties, particularly the now united Res Publica and the Pro Patria Union have stated their opposition to same-sex marriage^[2]. However, some prominent members even from this right-wing party have spoken out for a more tolerant approach in the issue.