Same-sex couples legally get married in Switzerland after wedding law change
Joyful pictures show gay and lesbian couples tying the knot in Switzerland, where same-sex marriage officially became legal from today.The weddings took place nine months after the country voted in favour of same-sex unions on September 26 last year.More than 64% of Swiss voters backed the ‘Marriage for All’ law during a nationwide referendum.
Same-sex couples will also be able to convert their registered partnership into marriage from today.They can also apply for joint adoption of children and to inherit a partner’s pension when they die.One of the first couples to tie the knot on Friday morning, Laure and Aline, revealed how they had spent 21 years waiting for this day to arrive.Laure told Euronews: ‘We sent out the invitations at the last minute.‘Our family will be there, and some friends too.‘It’s very exciting and we are happy to be able to represent marriage for all.’The couple, both native to Geneva, became registered partners in 2014.They later had a son, now four, carried by Laure during a medically-assisted pregnancy.But Aline faced a long wait to be recognised as the boy’s other parent.‘I’m the biological mother so Aline had no rights in relation to him,’ Laure said.‘So then you have to wait until the child has lived together with you as the couple for a year.‘And then you have to go through the adoption process, and that takes about two years.’Now they finally are both legally recognised as the boy’s mothers, she said.Luca Morreale and Stefano Perfetti were also among the couples who attended a registry office in Zurich today to convert their registered partnership into marriage.
