SCHAFFHAUSEN (Switzerland), July 1, 2017 — Alois Carnier, aged 57, and Peter Leu (67) said “wholeheartedly I do” on Friday, as Swiss same-sex marriages were legalized.
This is the first time that two men have entered the Schaffhausen civil registry as husband and wife.
The “Marriage for All” initiative was approved by nearly two-thirds of voters last September. This made Switzerland the last country in Western Europe that allows same-sex marriage.
“The ceremony was really important to me because it has been 20 years in making,” Carnier said. He entered into a partnership registered with Leu in 2014. Since then, he has been actively involved in a long campaign to recognize gay rights.
After being together for 21 year, Aline, 46 and Laure (45) tied the knot across the country in Geneva. They have a son, aged four, and were previously in a civil partnership, just like Leu and Carnier.
“In all senses, this (for us) is a new stage,” said Laure, a human resource specialist who, like her partner, declined to reveal her family name.
Marie BarbeyChappuis, Geneva Mayor, said that the ceremony was very moving and awaited.
In 2007, same-sex couples were granted the right to form civil partnerships and in 2018, the right for them to adopt their children.
They were denied the rights of married heterosexual couples such as regular adoption and sperm donation, as well as an easier path for foreign spouses to become citizens.
These options are now available to same-sex partners through marriage.
Leu and Carnier felt that the change was a significant emotional and social event.
Leu stated, “I believe it’s important for our marriage to be recognized equally and not put to the side by a special category.”
They plan to marry next year and have a religious ceremony.
The council that presides over the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, Carnier, voted in June to bless heterosexual marriages with the same sacraments as heterosexual ones.
The couple plans to invite family and friends to their religious ceremonies, including two adult children Leu shares with his ex-wife and a two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter.
Leu stated, “I am convinced that she will grow up with three grandfathers,” “The world has expanded. There are many ways to live today, one can see.
