a lesbian couple in a registered partnership may adopt. The court overturned a lower court's ruling which had rejected the couple's adoption application. During the public debate about the bill, a number of public figures came out as gay, including choreographer Jüri Nael, actor Risto Kübar, fashion designer Aldo Järvsoo, and singer Lauri Liiv. Subsequent developments In February 2016, several politicians (mostly from the Estonian Free Party) introduced the Same-Sex Partnership Bill to the Riigikogu, aimed at repealing the Registered Partnership Act and creating a separate law for same-sex couples. Andres Herkel, spokesman for the Free Party, justified the need for the bill and criticised the partnership act, arguing it had "brought legal confusion to include same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples in the same law", "The including of the regulation concerning different-sex couples and same-sex couples in one Act is the basis of very many conceptual confusion." The bill was opposed by the Conservative People's Party, the Reform Party and the Social Democrats, and ultimately failed 14–55 in Parliament. In October 2017, the Riigikogu voted against a bill which sought to repeal the Registered Partnership Act. The repeal bill, supported by the Conservative People's Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, was rejected by a vote of 19–47 at first reading on October 17. The Social Democrats, the Reform Party and the two independents opposed the bill, arguing it would "take rights away". The Centre Party was split with some voting against the bill and others abstaining, whilst the Free Party mostly abstained. Lawmakers supporting the bill claimed that the Registered Partnership Act had "brought division within Estonian society". a. Both MPs were formerly members of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union. Statistics 29 same-sex partnerships had been performed by August 2016. By October 2017, 59 cohabitation agreements had been concluded. Immigration and residency rights In June 2017, the Estonian Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a right to the protection of family life. Clarifying the courts' jurisdiction in the matter of applying legal protection in residence permit disputes, the court ruled that Estonian law does not forbid issuing a residence permit to same-sex spouses. In November 2017, the Tallinn Circuit Court ruled that an American woman, in a same-sex relationship with an Estonian woman, could not be issued a residence permit. The couple appealed to the Supreme Court, which dismissed their case in April 2018.