By a nearly two-thirds majority in a vote, Switzerland has agreed to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, making it one of the last countries in Western Europe to do so.
According to the Swiss federal chancellery, 64.1% of voters supported same-sex marriage in a countrywide referendum held on Sunday.
"Today is a historic day for Switzerland, a historic day for equality for same-sex couples, and a historic day for the entire LGBT community," said Jan Muller of the "yes" campaign organization.
Switzerland is the 30th country globally to legalize same-gender weddings and one of the last Western European countries. In 2001, the Netherlands was the first to do so.
"We are overjoyed and relieved," Antonia Hauswirth of the national organization "Marriage for All," said, adding that supporters would gather in Bern on Sunday to celebrate.
Karin Keller-Sutter, the Justice Minister, stated that the first same-sex marriages should take place on July 1 of next year.
"Whoever loves each other and wants to marry will be able to do so," she stated, referring to two men, two women, or a man and a woman.
"The government is not required to tell citizens how to live their lives."
Amnesty International hailed the decision as a "watershed moment for equality."
While same-sex couples can register a civil partnership, which accounts for approximately 700 each year, the arrangement does not give them the same privileges as marriage, such as citizenship or joint child adoption.
Same-sex couples will be able to marry in civil ceremonies and adopt children under the new law. In one of the most contentious aspects of the referendum campaign, married lesbian couples will also have access to sperm donation.
After the Swiss parliament adopted a law last December allowing same-sex couples to marry, supporters gathered the 50,000 signatures required to put the matter to a vote under Switzerland's direct democracy system.
Monika Rueegger, a member of the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) and the referendum committee "No to Marriage for All," expressed disappointment with the result.
"This was not about love or feelings; it was about the safety of the children. "The losers here are the children and fathers," she told the news agency Reuters.
The bill also makes it easier for foreigners who marry Swiss nationals to obtain citizenship.
Even the most conservative cantons in the country's 26 cantons, with a population of over eight million people, voted yes. Basel City had the highest level of support, with 74%.
According to the AFP news agency, "the Swiss have dropped a massive 'yes' into the ballot box." Olga Baranova, a spokeswoman for the "yes" committee, said.
She was in a café in Bern, Switzerland's capital, where the "yes" campaign was celebrated with rainbow-colored balloons.
Baranova stated, "Today does not change my country."
"Today reflects the shift in mentality that has occurred over the last 20 years. It is, in fact, a reflection of society's broad and important acceptance of LGBT people."
