Estonia Not Ready for Cohabitation Act, MP Says
With Parliament likely to vote this week whether or not the gender-neutral draft Cohabitation Act continues on its path to becoming law, independent MP Kalle Laanet, formerly of the Center Party, said the bill should be taken off the agenda because Estonia is not ready for this debate yet.
“Judging by the messages in the media and the letters arriving in our inboxes on a daily basis, I am completely convinced that it is too soon,” Laanet, a member of the Legal Affairs Committee, told ETV.
After the vote tied in the Legal Affairs Committee yesterday, it could take a few days for the bill to reach the packed agenda of the Parliament.
MPs have received thousands of e-mails calling them to reject the bill, although Social Democrat Rainer Vakra said the Parliament’s IT department has established that the e-mails, hundreds of which arrive daily, are sent through a special program and the addresses attached do not allow a response. Vakra said the text in the e-mails is identical in its language, and the senders are "clearly not interested" in answers.
Unless an MP proposes to take the bill off the agenda, it will be discussed in Parliament, Social Democrat and head of the Legal Affairs Committee Neeme Suur said, adding that he supports the Cohabitation Act as an alternative to marriage for cohabitating couples.