Switzerland Legalized Gay Marriage. Here's What Comes Next.

     LGBTQIA+ rights have been a topic of discussion in Switzerland for longer than they have been in many countries. Switzerland first legalized homosexuality in 1942 as World War II raged around them. The age of consent was equalized in a May 1992 referendum. LGB individuals were also allowed to serve in the military beginning in 1992, while the right to change legal gender was established the following year. Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services and in employment were passed in 1999 and there has been nationwide recognition of same-sex couples since 2007.

     The past five years have seen more progress than the previous 50. There has been a de facto ban on conversion therapy since 2016. The ban on MSMs donating blood was relaxed to a one-year deferral period in 2017. In 2018, laws allowed for the adoption of children by a single LGBT person and stepchild adoption by same-sex couples. In 2020, anti-discrimination laws for LGB individuals were expanded to all other areas, including indirect discrimination and hate speech. Then, on September 26th, 2021, Swiss voters voted 64 percent to 36 percent to legalize same-sex marriage, making them the 30th nation in the world to do so. A majority of residents in every canton voted yes, and this referendum also included joint adoption by same-sex couples and access to IVF for lesbian couples. These historic developments will go into effect in July 2022.

     So, what's left? Commercial surrogacy is banned for gay male couples, but it is also banned for heterosexual couples, so this is not discrimination. We need to make the de facto ban on conversion therapy a de jure ban as well. We need to remove the one-year deferral period and allow MSMs to donate blood just like heterosexual people can. We need to support a proposed third gender option. We need to expand the otherwise-excellent anti-discrimination laws to include transgender individuals. Finally, we need to shift public support for these issues, which is getting close to 80 percent. If we can accomplish these goals by 2025, we can say Switzerland has probably among the best human rights situations for LGBTQIA+ people in the world.