Switzerland: Same-sex marriage wins big in referendum
LGBTQ Nation reported September 26 on Switzerland's recent referendum that showed just over 64 percent of voters are in favor of marriage equality, with a majority in each Swiss canton, or state. The referendum was called only because anti-LGBT groups gathered enough signatures to force one. The anti-LGBT groups were riled up because, in December 2020, the upper house in the Swiss legislature had passed, in a vote of 22-15, a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and allowing Lesbian couples to access sperm banks. Prior to the September referendum, polling underestimated pro-LGBT support in Switzerland.
Poland: Anti-LGBT province caves under EU pressure
Reuters reported on September 22 that Swietokrzyskie, one of the Polish provinces that had previously declared itself "LGBT free," has backed down from a motion opposing "LGBT ideology" after the European Union threatened to cut funding to the region. Five of the nearly 100 other provinces of the country that have made similar anti-LGBT declarations are facing similar pressures, with the European Commission saying the regions' extra COVID-19 and cohesion funds could be put on hold if the anti-LGBT declarations are not abandoned. Poland's government has responded by saying it would protect Polish customs and traditions, and it would oppose "all manifestations of discrimination."