HELSINKI, Finland — The Finnish parliament began debate Thursday on a proposal that would legalize same-sex marriage.
Should the legislation become law, Finland would become the final Nordic country to pass a law on gender-neutral marriage. A previous attempt in the Parliament’s last session had failed.
This latest attempt comes after 166,000 Finns had signed a citizens’ initiative that forced the issue onto the Parliamentary agenda, reported the Finnish media outlet YLE.
The law requires that any proposal that secures 50,000 signatures must be considered by Members of Parliament. Only 42,000 Finns had signed a counter petition that opposed any legislative changes,
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Recent polling on the issue shows Finns’ support for same-sex marriage is 58 percent, while 34 percent of those polled were opposed to the idea.
Same-sex marriage is already legal in the Nordic countries of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
