GENEVA -- Switzerland voted by a wide margin in a referendum Sunday to allow same-sex couples to marry, bringing the Alpine nation into line with many others in western Europe.
Official results showed the measure passed with 64.1% of voters in favor and won a majority in all of Switzerland's 26 cantons, or states.
Switzerland's parliament and the governing Federal Council supported the "Marriage for All" measure. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil partnerships since 2007.
Supporters said passage would put same-sex partners on equal legal footing with heterosexual couples by allowing them to adopt children together and facilitating citizenship for same-sex spouses. It would also permit lesbian couples to utilize regulated sperm donation.
Opponents believe that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman.
At a polling station in Geneva, voter Anna Leimgruber said Sunday she cast her ballot for the "no" camp because she believed "children would need to have a dad and a mom."
Nicolas Dzierlatka, who voted "yes," said what children need is love.
"I think what's important for children is that they are loved and respected -- and I think there are children who are not respected or loved in so-called 'hetero' couples," he said.
Most countries in Western Europe already recognize same-sex marriage, while most of those in Central and Eastern Europe don't allow wedlock involving two men or two women.
Also on Sunday, voters dismissed a proposal spearheaded by left-wing groups to raise taxes on returns from investments and capital such as dividends or income from rental properties in Switzerland as a way to ensure better redistribution and fairer taxation.
Results showed 64.9% voting against it in a country known for its vibrant financial sector and relatively low taxes, and as a haven for many of the world's richest people. No canton voted in favor.
![FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021 file photo, people gather for the Zurich Pride parade in Zurich, Switzerland. Swiss voters will wrap up a referendum on Sunday Sept. 26, 2021, to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage in the rich Alpine country, with supporters hoping for a big step toward ending discrimination against gays and lesbians while opponents fear what they consider an erosion of traditional family values. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)]()
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021 file photo, people gather for the Zurich Pride parade in Zurich, Switzerland. Swiss voters will wrap up a referendum on Sunday Sept. 26, 2021, to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage in the rich Alpine country, with supporters hoping for a big step toward ending discrimination against gays and lesbians while opponents fear what they consider an erosion of traditional family values. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)
![A couple walk past a poster showing a slogan in Perly near Geneva, Saturday Sept. 25, 2021. Voters in Switzerland will decide Sunday whether to allow same-sex marriages in the rich Alpine country, one of the few in Western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. Opponents have argued that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights somehow would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)]()
A couple walk past a poster showing a slogan in Perly near Geneva, Saturday Sept. 25, 2021. Voters in Switzerland will decide Sunday whether to allow same-sex marriages in the rich Alpine country, one of the few in Western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. Opponents have argued that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights somehow would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
![FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021 file photo, people take part in the Zurich Pride parade in Zurich, Switzerland, with the slogan "Dare. Marriage for all, now!" (Trau Dich. Ehe fuer alle. Jetzt!) for the rights of the LGBTIQ community. Swiss voters will wrap up a referendum on Sunday Sept. 26, 2021, to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage in the rich Alpine country, with supporters hoping for a big step toward ending discrimination against gays and lesbians while opponents fear what they consider an erosion of traditional family values. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)]()
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021 file photo, people take part in the Zurich Pride parade in Zurich, Switzerland, with the slogan "Dare. Marriage for all, now!" (Trau Dich. Ehe fuer alle. Jetzt!) for the rights of the LGBTIQ community. Swiss voters will wrap up a referendum on Sunday Sept. 26, 2021, to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage in the rich Alpine country, with supporters hoping for a big step toward ending discrimination against gays and lesbians while opponents fear what they consider an erosion of traditional family values. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP, File)
![Posters of political parties and associations showing their slogans in Perly near Geneva, Saturday Sept. 25, 2021. Voters in Switzerland will decide Sunday whether to allow same-sex marriages in the rich Alpine country, one of the few in Western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. Opponents have argued that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights somehow would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)]()
Posters of political parties and associations showing their slogans in Perly near Geneva, Saturday Sept. 25, 2021. Voters in Switzerland will decide Sunday whether to allow same-sex marriages in the rich Alpine country, one of the few in Western Europe where gay and lesbian couples do not already have the right to wed. Opponents have argued that replacing civil partnerships with full marriage rights somehow would undermine families based on a union between one man and one woman. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
