HELSINKI, Finland — The government on Friday proposed legalizing gay partnerships but said same-sex couples should not be allowed to adopt children or share a surname.
The proposal, presented by President Tarja Halonen, now goes to the Parliament, which is expected to approve the measure.
Finland would then join fellow Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland in legalizing gay partnerships. Denmark and Iceland also let gay couples adopt children in certain circumstances.
Under the proposal, same-sex couples 18 years or older could make their union official in a civil ceremony, comparable to matrimony but nevertheless "a separate legal institution." Gay couples would have the same rights as those who are married when it comes to inheritance and divorce.
But the legislation should go further, the Finnish Lesbian and Gay Association said.
"Naturally, we are happy that it has at last got this far after eight years of work," said Rainer Hiltunen, the association's secretary-general. "But we are disappointed in the clauses about adoption and a joint surname."
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, to which 85 percent of Finland's population of 5.2 million people belongs, has opposed giving gay partners the same rights as married couples.
However, Archbishop Jukka Paarma said in an interview last month that "the legal position of homosexual and lesbian couples should be improved."