Helvetic diligence par excellence: It took seven long years until the Swiss parliament could finally bring itself to pass a law on marriage equality. Finally, on 18 December, the time had come: the National Council and the Council of States put marriage for all under the parliamentary umbrella. Today marked another milestone for intersex and transgender people. The parliament spoke out in favour of a simpler change of gender entry in official documents.

In June, a clear majority of the Swiss National Council voted in favour of marriage equality – the bill went to the small chamber of the Swiss Parliament, the Swiss Council of States, for a further vote. At the beginning of December, the Council of States also voted in favour, but due to some discrepancies regarding sperm donation for female couples, no final decision could be made. Once all formal ambiguities had been resolved, nothing stood in the way of the final votes in both chambers of the Swiss parliament on 18 December.

Clear “yes” in both chambers

In the National Council, the final vote on marriage for all was clear: 136 MPs voted in favour, 48 against, and nine abstained. A few hours earlier, the Council of States had already said a clear “yes” to marriage for all by 24 votes to 11 (seven abstentions).

For trans* and intersex people, too, parliament today passed a simplification: they are allowed to change their gender entry in official documents in a self-determined way and without the consent of both parents, but only from the age of 16.

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Full equality not yet achieved

But even with marriage, homosexual couples in Switzerland are not fully equal to heterosexual couples in legal terms.

Lesbian couples are allowed access to sperm donations in principle, but they are only legally protected if the child is conceived through a sperm bank in Switzerland. They are therefore not allowed to use private sperm donation or sperm donation abroad.

Married male couples still only have the option of stepchild adoption, as surrogacy is not part of marriage equality.

The bill passed today also does not include provisions on survivors’ pensions. For the time being, widows and widowers are not entitled to a survivor’s pension after the death of their spouses.

Ultra-conservatives want to overturn marriage for all by referendum

“We reject this watering down of the institution of marriage,” wrote the Federal Democratic Union (EDU) in a media release in June, already announcing at that time a referendum in case the bill is accepted by parliament. In 100 days, the ultra-conservative Christian party must have collected 50,000 signatures for a referendum to take place and for the Swiss to have the final say.

But even a referendum should not pose a serious threat to marriage equality. According to surveys, the overwhelming majority of the Swiss population supports equality for homosexual couples.

A survey conducted by gfs-zürich in October 2019 shows that the majority of voters of the Christian Democratic People’s Party (CVP) and even those of the national conservative, right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) are in favour of allowing same-sex couples to marry.

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