#History #samesex #couples #married #Switzerland
With smiles, pride and emotion, the first same-sex couples in Switzerland said yes on Friday after a referendum that changed the landscape for LGBTQ rights in the country.
Among the first to marry were Aline, 46, and Laure, 45, who have been together for 21 years and converted their civil partnership into marriage at the posh Palais Eynard in Geneva.
Under a sparkling chandelier in a mirrored parlor and with about a dozen close friends and family members, the couple exchanged touching words recalling their years together and their love for one another.
“You are a wonderful person,” Aline said, looking into Laure’s eyes.
“I still want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Throughout the ceremony, they held hands and signed the official documents, followed by their witnesses.
“I am very pleased to announce that you have officially married,” said Geneva Mayor Marie Barbey-Chappuis, who officiated at the ceremony.
The room erupted in applause as the pair shared a kiss.
There was no ring exchange, instead the couple chose to step out of the gold bands of their civil partnership, which was struck exactly 19 years ago on July 1, 2003.
– ‘Moment’ in History –
“It’s really important for us to have that visibility, to show that marriage is open to everyone, now and for generations to come,” Laure told reporters afterwards.
Her wife Aline added: “It took quite a long time in Switzerland.
The Swiss government’s plans to finally introduce “marriage for all” have been challenged by opponents, who successfully sponsored a referendum last September.
But 64.1 percent of voters supported the introduction of same-sex marriage in the wealthy Alpine nation.
Switzerland was one of the last remaining Western European nations where same-sex marriages were not yet accepted. The Netherlands were the first to make the change in 2001.
“It was very moving. It’s a big moment and it sends a very strong message to society – to be free to love and be loved,” Mayor Barbey-Chappuis told AFP after the first ceremony.
“The symbolism was particularly strong and so was the emotion,” she said.
“It was high time that marriage in Switzerland became completely equal.”
– ‘Last but not least’ –
Later on Friday, the Palais Eynard held its first wedding between two men: Daniel, a 54-year-old interior designer, and 51-year-old stylist Xavier, who have been a couple for 15 years.
70 people filled a room in the 19th-century park to witness the ceremony.
The couple exchanged their vows to classical music to ensure only they could hear each other.
Daniel put his glasses on to read his, the card trembling slightly in his hand as Xavier comforted him by holding his other arm.
Married to great applause, they walked arm in arm to the waiting wedding cakes and champagne flutes, where Xavier’s father told the guests: “Thank you Switzerland. Finally.”
Both couples received a wrapped gift from the city, a bouquet of flowers and the pen they married with.
“We’re very happy and it’s something fabulous for us,” Xavier told reporters.
“We hope to live our lives simply and like everyone else.”
Switzerland decriminalized homosexuality in 1942. Before Friday, same-sex couples could only register as civil partners – a status that does not grant the same rights as marriage.
But same-sex couples can now marry in a civil ceremony and enjoy the same rights as other married couples.
In particular, same-sex foreign spouses can now apply for citizenship through a simplified procedure, and same-sex couples are now allowed to adopt together.
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#History #samesex #couples #married #Switzerland
