People In Switzerland Have Voted To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage In A Referendum
Voters in Switzerland have overwhelmingly voted to legalize same-sex marriage in a referendum on Sunday Sep. 26.
![People In Switzerland Have Voted To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage In A Referendum](/content/images/size/w1200/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/switzerland-legalize-same-sex-marriage-referendum.jpg)
Voters in Switzerland have overwhelmingly voted to legalize same-sex marriage in a referendum on Sunday Sep. 26.
Official results showed that 64.1% of voters were in favor of same-sex marriage with a majority in all of the country’s 26 cantons, or states.
![switzerland legalize same sex marriage referendum](https://almostmag.co/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/switzerland-legalize-same-sex-marriage-referendum1.jpg)
Currently, same-sex couples are only allowed to enter into “registered partnerships”, which do not provide them with the same rights as those obtained through marriage.
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Under the new law, same-sex partners will be able to adopt children and obtain citizenship, and lesbian couples will also be able to conceive using sperm donation.
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Switzerland’s justice minister tweeted that the government will implement the decision quickly, with the new rules expected to take effect on July 1.
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“It is a historic day for Switzerland, a historic day when it comes to equality for same-sex couples, and it is also an important day for the whole LGBT community,” Jan Muller, of the “yes” campaign committee, told AFP.
Lawmakers had voted to legalize same-sex marriage and simplify the procedures for transgender people to change their legal gender in December last year.
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However, conservative politicians gathered the 50,000 signatures required to put the subject to a referendum.
Switzerland, which has a population of 8.5 million, is traditionally more conservative and only extended the right to vote to all women in the country in 1990.
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But a survey by Pink Cross, a gay advocacy group, in February 2020 showed that more than 80% of the Swiss population support same-sex marriage.
And tens of thousands of people gathered in Zurich on Saturday Sep. 4 to rally in support of same-sex marriage ahead of the referendum.
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The law makes it one of the last countries in Western Europe to legalize gay marriage.