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Liechtenstein’s parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage on Thursday, making it the 22nd country in Europe to do so.
Lawmakers in the German-speaking microstate voted nearly unanimously in favor of the measure, with 24 of its 25 members supporting it, Liechtensteiner Vaterland reported.
Daniel Seger, parliamentary group spokesperson for the conservative Progressive Citizens’ Party in Liechtenstein, described the passage of the marriage law amendment as a “big relief” after its second reading.
“We felt the pressure and the expectation that we should be the last German-speaking country to introduce marriage for everyone,” he said. Germany, Austria and Switzerland legalized same-sex marriage in 2017, 2019 and 2022, respectively.
Liechtenstein first legalized registered partnerships for same-sex couples in 2011, giving them some of the same rights as married heterosexual couples. The tiny Alpine nation of fewer than 40,000 people hosted its first Pride event in 2022.
Its monarch, Prince Hans-Adam II, has voiced support for same-sex marriage but opposed granting LGBTQ+ couples adoption rights — though the government did so in 2023 following a ruling by the country’s constitutional court.
Liechtenstein’s permanent mission to the U.N. called the marriage law amendment, which will come into effect on January 1, 2025, “an important step for equal rights of LGBTIQ+ people” in a post on X.
It comes amid a rise in violence against LGBTQ+ people in Europe, bucking a trend of growing social acceptance, according to a report by advocacy group ILGA-Europe published earlier this week.
