Switzerland votes in favour of same-sex marriage

Swiss voters backed a national referendum on Sunday that will see same-sex marriage legalized across the country, making it one of the last countries in Western Europe to allow same-sex couples to wed. People voted 64.1 per cent in favour of the referendum.

Under the amended law, same-sex couples can marry and adopt children unrelated to them. Civil partnerships were legalized in 2007 and since 2018, a member of a couple could adopt the other partner's children if they parented them. The law also allows married lesbian couples to have children through sperm donation, a process previously only allowed for married heterosexual couples.

The federal government and parliament had already voted in favour of legalization, but conservative opponents forced a referendum under the country's direct democracy system.

According to Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, the new rules would likely come into force on July 1 of 2022.

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