Swiss voters have given their consent to same-sex civil marriage.
No surprises here, as the exit pools predicted, and so it was. Swiss citizens have given their approval to the recognition of same-sex civil marriages, bringing Switzerland into line with France, Germany, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Countries where gay marriage is recognized. The few European Union countries that have not yet passed legislation on the matter are Italy, Poland and Hungary, with these two being strongly homophobic.
Gay marriage in Switzerland had already been approved a year ago by the Swiss Parliament, but was blocked by nationalist parties when the 50,000 signatures needed to hold a referendum without a quorum were reached. The referendum was rejected by 64% of Swiss voters and in all 26 cantons of the Confederation, including those with a strong conservative tradition.
Obviously, the government and some religious circles were in favour of the referendum, while the Swiss Bishops’ Conference and the three main conservative and nationalist parties, led by the SVP (Swiss People’s Party of the Right), were on the other side.