Finland gay marriage

The Finnish Parliament voted down on February 17 a citizens' petition to repeal a law that would allow same-sex marriage from next month. The final tally was parliamentarians voting against the petition and 48 in favor of it. The law in question was passed by the previous government in and ends differentiation between same-sex unions and heterosexual marriages. It also guarantee the same rights to adopt children and share a surname.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland will not adopt a proposed model that would have recognised both heterosexual and same-sex unions as parallel definitions of marriage. In Thursday's Church Council vote, the measure received 62 votes in favour and 40 against —15 votes short of the required three-quarters majority. In May last year, the Bishops' Conference proposed that a provision on parallel concepts of marriage be added to the Church's constitution. One would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, the other as between two people.

In , a total of same-sex marriages were formed in Finland. Same-sex marriage became legal in Finland after an amendment to the Marriage Act entered into force on 1 March Since then, over 3, couples have tied the knot. From to , registration of partnership was available for same-sex couples.

A growing number of governments around the world are considering whether to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. So far, more than two dozen countries have enacted national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry, mostly in Europe and the Americas. In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to wed, while others do not. On Dec.