Switzerland overwhelmingly reaffirms marriage equality in national referendum

In December, Switzerland became just the 29th country on the planet to legalize marriage equality. The Swiss National Council – the lower house of the Alpine country’s legislature – approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to get married and allowing lesbian couples to have access to sperm banks.

The month before, the Council of States – the legislature’s upper house – passed the same bill with a 22-15 vote, the first time marriage equality legislation was adapted since it was first proposed by the country’s Green Party in 2013.

When the bill was passed, a national referendum wasn’t required, but anti-LGBTQ groups and politicians organized enough signatures by April 2021 to force a referendum to be held on the law.

While polling did show that allowing for marriage equality was in the majority, most polling prior to the actual referendum underestimated the support it had among Swiss voters. Much of the opposition was focused on the proposed law’s code affecting lesbian couples and sperm banks.

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