‘Free to love’: Swiss ‘marriage for all’ law takes effect

STORY: DATE: July 1, 2022

Switzerland’s “Marriage for All” law has taken effect

Marie Barbey-Chappuis, Geneva Mayor: "This is a strong message to send to society: that one is free to love and be loved."

Aline and Laure were finally able to tie the knot after 21 years together

Laure: "For us, this is a strong symbol to be able to mark this first of July, to have this visibility, and for marriage to become a normality for same-sex couples."

Same-sex couples won the right to enter civil partnerships in 2007

but lacked rights typically granted to heterosexual couples

The new law further removes barriers for queer couples

Marriage for All committee member, Charles Larson: "First, there is access to the possibility of joint adoption, whereas before, one person in the couple had to have a child previously, adopted from abroad or from a previous marriage, and the other partner could adopt that child. Then, the other aspect that is very important for lesbian couples, is the access to sperm donations, which wasn’t possible for same-sex couples and which is not possible for single people. There's also access to an easier naturalization process, which wasn’t the case before. So this is also very important."

Groom, Alois Carnier: “It's been a long way, more than 20 years in the making, and so it's good to stand here as a couple, say, 'I do,' and be married."