Switzerland: Love and marriage for all!

2020 does not only have dark sides and bad news. There is currently "good news" from Switzerland, which means that many wedding bells will certainly ring after the lockdown. Because: homosexual couples are now to be allowed to marry in Switzerland.

Even if, among others, the European countries of the LGBTQ community are becoming ever closer, there are still states where homosexual marriage is prohibited.

In the centre of Europe, in the north and in the south, citizens have now become largely open or somewhat more tolerant of people with a different sexuality and lifestyle. In the east, however, there is still a lot of catching up to do.

The decision in detail

On Friday morning, parliament approved the opening of marriage to same-sex couples in Switzerland with a large majority of more than 65 percent.

Thus, homosexuals now receive almost the same rights that heterosexual couples have.

However, as is so often the case, there are unfortunately still exceptions in certain areas. For example, (for lesbian couples) in the case of a pregnancy through sperm donation, the mother's partner is not automatically seen as a parent.

This means that adoption papers still have to be signed. At the moment, however, many activists are already campaigning for exactly that to change.

By the way: this decision is not a spontaneous piece of legislation. Rather, it was already discussed in parliament in 2013. Now, in 2020, the time has finally come.

With this step, Switzerland showed itself to be liberal and tolerant towards the LGBTQ community and could therefore possibly serve as a model for many other countries that may follow suit.

Swiss marriage for all - not everyone is enthusiastic

What is a cause for joy for many Swiss is a thorn in the side of some. SVP politicians and other conservatives want to oppose this law.

Signatures are currently being collected to stop legal marriage for all in Switzerland despite the vote. But it is precisely this plan that could backfire.

At least LGBTQ activists look at the initiative with a smile. Because in Switzerland, the majority of citizens have no problem with marriage for same-sex couples.

Several surveys in the past have shown that the community can look forward to reliable support from heterosexuals.

Marriage for all: yes or no? What is the situation in Europe?

The neighbouring countries of Switzerland, Germany, France and Austria have already allowed same-sex marriage in previous years.

How controversial this topic is, however, is shown again and again by the example of other countries, such as Italy. Here, people still strictly insist on the prohibition of marriage for homosexual couples.

However, the situation for same-sex couples is particularly burdensome in Eastern Europe. It would therefore certainly be a little naïve to assume that politics, for example in Poland or Hungary, would react positively here in the near future.

Considering how long it took comparatively gay-friendly countries to open up to marriage for all, there is still a long way to go before the eastern regions change their minds.

But: nevertheless, the Swiss developments have laid another foundation stone for an international rethink.

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