Finland's parliament approves legalising same-sex marriages

Finland's parliament has voted to approve legalising same-sex marriages, according to media reports.

It was a narrow victory for those in favour of legalising same-sex marriages in the country.

According to a report in The Independent Friday, 105 members of parliament supported the measure while 92 opposed it.

The new measure promises to end the distinction in Finland between same-sex unions and heterosexual marriages and there will soon be committee meetings to start the process of introducing amendments to the law.

Equal rights that gay and lesbian married couples can now enjoy include the ability to adopt children and share a surname.

"Finland should strive to become a society where discrimination does not exist, human rights are respected and two adults can marry regardless of their sexual orientation," Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said in an open letter before the vote.

Most opponents argued that all children should have the right to a father and a mother.

"This is a question of the future of our children and the whole society, and such changes should not be made without thorough evaluation of their impact," Mika Niikko of the nationalist Finns Party said before the vote.

Since 2002, gay and lesbian couples in Finland have been able to enter into civil partnerships. But until today, it was the only country in the Nordic region to not allow same-sex marriages. It would now become the 13th European Union (EU) country to allow same-sex marriages.