The Swiss Have Legalized Equal Marriage And Adoption!

A long and difficult battle ended with a referendum on same-sex marriage and equal adoption in Switzerland. The “yes” camp won by a majority vote that now extends full legal rights for same-sex couples across the country.

Photo by Fabrice Coffrini AFP/Getty Images

Why this referendum on same-sex marriage and equal adoption?

The Swiss parliament approved same-sex marriage and equal adoption for its citizens in December 2019, making it the 29th country in the world to do so. But Switzerland is not like most countries; they have a unique system that allows opponents to overturn new laws by referendum! The group that opposed equal marriage had 100 days to collect the 50,000 signatures needed. They succeeded and held a referendum on September 26, 2021.

Photo by Fabrice Coffrini AFP/Getty Images

Who voted “yes” and who voted “no”?

The Swiss voters have spoken! 64.1% of them accepted the opening of marriage and adoption, with 35.9% voting against it.

All the 26 Swiss cantons accepted the legislation. The most hesitant was Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, with 50.8% of the votes in favor.

A game-changing law for many people

• Same-Sex marriage and joint adoption

Same-sex couples have finally gained full marriage and adoption rights with the recent passage of the law.

Since 2007, when civil partnerships were approved, same-sex couples have enjoyed the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts except in one area: adopting children. From now on, they will be able to jointly adopt children and no longer be restricted to children parented by one of them.

• Access to sperm donation and insemination

Good news for couples of women who want to start a family! With the new legislation, they will access sperm donations and insemination.

• A much easier naturalization process for same-sex couples

Finally, same-sex couples will benefit from the facilitated naturalization procedure that already exists for foreign heterosexual spouses of Swiss citizens.

The first marriages will be possible in 2022

Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said the first same-sex marriages will be possible from July 2022.

Civil partnership or marriage, you decide

Note that LGBTQ couples who have entered a civil partnership since 2007 will be able to keep their current status or convert it into full marriage when the new law comes into force.

Conclusion

Switzerland is finally catching up with many of its European neighbors, like Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom that offers both same-sex marriage and equal adoption to LGBTQ couples.