Switzerland votes to make same-sex marriage legal

Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrate in Switzerland.

(Image credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

published 26 September 2021

Voters in Switzerland approved a measure on Sunday making it legal for same-sex couples to get married and adopt children.

Results provided by the Swiss federal chancellery show it was passed by a nearly two-thirds majority, Reuters reports. Switzerland is one of the last Western European countries to legalize gay marriage, and Antonia Hauswirth of the Marriage for All committee told Reuters supporters of the measure are "very happy and relieved."

Monika Rüegger, a member of the right-wing Swiss People's Party and the No to Marriage for All committee, told Reuters her side is disheartened by the overwhelming approval, saying, "This was not about love and feelings, it was about children's welfare. Children and fathers are the losers here." Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said the new rules will likely go into effect on July 1, 2022.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.