Finland to legalize same-sex marriage

14 Jul 2010

by Rex Wockner; Bay Windows Contributor

Finland's Justice Ministry has begun work on legalizing same-sex marriage as well as adoption by married same-sex couples.

Justice Minister Tuija Brax said Finland's constitution bans discrimination based on gender and that public opinion supports letting gay couples marry.

The law should be in place by 2012.

That will leave Denmark as the only Nordic country without same-sex marriage. Ironically, in 1989, Denmark was the first nation in the world to enact a registered-partnership law. It granted gay couples 99 percent of the rights and obligations of marriage and became a model for numerous other nations.

Full same-sex marriage is legal in Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Mexico City, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.

Article taken from www.baywindows.com.