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Voters in Switzerland to decide fate of Gay partnerships registry

Voters in Switzerland to decide fate of Gay partnerships registry
by Matt Nagle - SGN Managing Editor The first referendum of its kind in Europe has fallen into the hands of voters in Switzerland. On June 5, Swiss voters will decide whether Gay couples can register their partnerships and receive the same rights as married couples in the areas of pensions, inheritance and taxes. Such a registry would also allow couples to take on certain legal and financial obligations towards each other. Legislation to establish a partnerships registry has already been approved by the Swiss parliament, but conservative Christians and political adversaries of same-sex marriage mounted a successful signature drive and collected enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot. Reports indicate that the chasm is quite wide between the no and yes voters with religious and political conservatives on the no side and 130 parliamentarians and a cross-spectrum of personalities from Swiss society on the yes side. However, the latest polls are said to show broad support for same-sex couples in Switzerland, and hopes are high that the referendum will pass. If so, it would bring Switzerland into line with Germany and France which already have partnerships registries. But Switzerland is so far the only country to vote on the matter. With information from swissinfo.com