(Photo Credits: Anna Shvets from Pexels)

In Switzerland, same-sex couples can now at last legally marry, or at least starting next year. 

The Swiss people have overwhelmingly voted in favor of same-sex marriage by a nearly two-thirds majority (64.1%) in a nationwide referendum held Last Sunday—September 26, 2021. 

Apart from having the right to marry, the law will now allow LGBTQ couples to adopt children, while married lesbian couples can now legally have children through sperm donation. In addition, the law has now made it easier for a foreign same-sex spouse to apply for and gain Swiss citizenship.



“We are very happy and relieved,” Antonia Hauswirth of the national committee ‘Marriage for All,’ said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, Laura Russo, co-president of the Geneva Federation of LGBT Associations, said during a gathering of jubilant supporters at a Geneva pedestrian street: “This is a historic day for us and for Switzerland, this is a great step forward, something we have been waiting for years.” Russo added, “This initiative was begun in 2013; we had to wait 8 years for the vote to happen — and here, this is a big ‘Yes.'”

This makes Switzerland the 30th country in the world to adopt same-sex marriage. The country is also one of the remaining ones in Western Europe to legalize gay marriage. The Netherlands, by the way, is reportedly the first country in the world to introduce same-sex marriage way back in 2001.

Swiss Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Twitter that the government will most likely implement the new law on July 1 next year. “With this, all couples will in the future be treated equally before the law: all can enter into a civil marriage, with the same rights and obligations,” Keller-Sutter reportedly wrote.

Congratulations to the LGBTQ community in Switzerland for having won the right to marry!

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