A small European country just made big news by legalising same-sex marriage
May 17, 2024The parliament of Liechtenstein recently approved a bill legalising same-sex marriage, positioning it as the 22nd country to do so among Europe’s 37 nations, according to ‘LGBTQ Nation’. This legislation will take effect at the beginning of 2025.
The Liechtenstein parliament, referred to as the Landtag, voted overwhelmingly in favour of the historic bill, with 24 out of its 25 members supporting it, according to the Liechetensteiner Vaterland.
The Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations celebrated on social media, stating, “Just in time for [the May 17th International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia], the LI Parliament approved same-sex marriage in its final reading today – an important step for equal rights of LGBTIQ+ people in Liechtenstein! [rainbow emoji] #MarriageEquality #HumanRightsForAll.”
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Liechtenstein, nestled between Austria and Switzerland, is Europe’s fourth-smallest country, covering just 62 square miles with a population of 39,790. Since 2011, the country has offered registered partnerships for same-sex couples, which the new law will allow to transition into marriages through a straightforward administrative process.
Back in November 2001, Paul Vogt, a Landtag member, proposed allowing same-sex couples to enter registered partnerships. However, at that time, neither Austria nor Switzerland recognised same-sex partnerships legally, leading the Landtag to reject the proposal in May 2003.
The Landtag eventually approved a proposal to pursue a registered partnership law in October 2007, following Switzerland’s passage of a similar law. The bill was formally introduced in December 2009, received endorsement from Prince Alois in August 2010, and was unanimously approved by the Landtag in March 2011.
Following the law's approval, the group Vox Populi (“Voice of the People”) gathered the more than 1,000 signatures needed for a voter referendum in June 2011. Approximately 69% of voters in the referendum supported the law, which then went into effect.
Between 2011 and 2022, only 43 same-sex partnerships were registered in Liechtenstein, according to its Office of Statistics.
In 2016, the Landtag revised family name laws to permit registered partners to legally adopt their partner’s last name. In June 2021, the country’s highest court ruled that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children. Subsequently, in May 2022, the Landtag passed a bill permitting same-sex partners to adopt stepchildren, which became effective in June 2023.
In 2018, a same-sex couple, Lukas Oehri and Dario Kleeb, sued the country after being denied a marriage license by one of its civil registry offices. The couple’s lawsuit argued that the denial violated the country’s constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Despite an administrative court ruling in their favor, an appellate state court overturned the decision in September 2019. The issue came to prominence in the lead-up to the country’s February 2021 parliamentary elections, with over 80% of Landtag candidates expressing support for legalising same-sex marriage.
The Landtag passed a motion to draft a same-sex marriage bill in September 2022. In response, the Catholic Archbishop of Vaduz, Wolfgang Haas, canceled the traditional Mass held during the Landtag’s opening session on New Year’s Day. Haas condemned same-sex marriage, saying it “runs counter to natural sensibility, to natural law in accordance with reason and, in particular, to the Christian concept of the human being.”
Haas retired in September 2023 and has since retreated to a monastery, refusing to communicate with the media.
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