Switzerland parliament approved draft legislation to allow same-sex marriage
According to Reuters, lower house of parliament in Switzerland has approved the draft legislation with two important components on Thursday to allow same-sex couples marry within the country.
The first part of this legislation is to allow same-sex couples to marry in Switzerland, following the second part to allow lesbian couples to access sperm donation services.
Rights group Pink Cross wrote on Twitter:
“By 132 votes to 52, with 13 abstentions, the National Council says YES to #Ehefüralle real equality!”
Like many of its western European neighbours, Germany introduced gay marriage back in 2017, while Austria did it earlier this year, the conservative Switzerland is finally putting in place a law which will have significant impacts for sexual minorities.
This is a major step for a country which focuses heavily on building consensus, to ensure that all objections have been answered before a legislation arrives at the parliament for approval. Hence, it is no easy task to reach an agreement around complex topic like same-sex marriage, especially with its requirement that the non-birthing lesbian partner be considered a parent.
In fact, this draft legislation has actually been in the pipeline since way back in 2013, when Green Liberal MP Kathrin Bertschy first launched a parliamentary initiative calling for the Swiss constitution to be changed to ensure same-sex couples ensure the same rights as married couples. (TheLocal)
This draft legislation will now move to the upper house for a final vote.