In a vote of 105-92, Finland’s Parliament today approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriages.
The reform will force wide-ranging changes in other legislation, which will take well over a year to finalise. The law will therefore not take effect until 2016 at the earliest.
The Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee had recommended the bill be rejected, arguing that allowing same-sex marriage might make adoption from abroad more difficult, particularly from neighboring Russia. Previously, the Legal Affairs Committee had blocked the law on two occasions
But 160,000 people signed a petition in favor of the legislation and a majority of party leaders,including National Coalition Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, signaled their support for same-sex marriage.
Finland is the last of the Nordic countries to legalize same-sex marriage.
Great news!
Tom of Finland smiles wherever he may be
By Timothy Byas:
ReplyDeleteso cool