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Finnish lawmakers reconfirm same-sex marriage

Xinhua, February 18, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Finnish Parliament on Friday rejected a citizens' initiative calling for abolishing the same-sex marriage law, two weeks before the law is due to come into force.

During the voting, 120 of the 200 members of parliament voted against the initiative, while 48 endorsed it, according to Finnish national broadcaster Yle.

The re-vote was a result of a Finnish movement called "True Marriage" that tried to maintain a model of marriage between a man and a woman in the law.

The petition collected more than 100,000 signatures for preventing the legalization of same-sex marriages.

The Finnish Parliament voted through the gender-neutral marriage bill in November 2014, and the president approved it in February 2015, making Finland the last Nordic country to legalize same-sex marriage.

The law will take effect on March 1, 2017. Endite