section_path: Same-sex marriage/Passage of legislation in 2024
section_name: Passage of legislation in 2024
paragraph_text: Passage of legislation in 2024
  
  Following the Swiss National Council 's vote to legalize same-sex marriage on 11 June 2020, Amos Kaufmann from the LGBT group Flay expressed his hope that Liechtenstein would soon follow suit. The Liechtensteiner Vaterland newspaper wrote that the issue might "soon be on the political arena". Minister of Social Affairs Mauro Pedrazzini said he expected discussion on the issue to become quite present in the lead up to the February 2021 parliamentary election. A spokesman for the Pariotic Union (VU) said the party had "more pressing issues", but said they would follow the developments in Switzerland and take a formal decision later on. FBP party president Marcus Vogt said the party was still debating whether to take an official stance in support of same-sex marriage. In an interview with Radio Liechtenstein in February 2021, Prince Hans-Adam II expressed his support for same-sex marriage but said he opposed allowing same-sex couples to adopt. During the February 2021 election campaign, over 80% of candidates for the Landtag said they supported legalising same-sex marriage. Following the election, the Liechtensteiner Vaterland reported that there was a "solid majority" in the Landtag to legalise same-sex marriage. On 24 March 2021, the VU and the FBP signed a coalition agreement, with the government programme including the promise that "legal certainty for non-traditional family models will be improved".
  
  A survey conducted by the youth wing of the Free List party, leading up to the 2021 general election, showed that the vast majority of elected representatives supported same-sex marriage, with the Free List, the FBP, and a large majority of the VU in support. The 2 members of the minor Democrats for Liechtenstein party did not respond to the survey. 10 lawmakers were regarded as a "solid yes" vote, 9 as a "likely yes" vote, 3 as a "likely no" vote, and 1 as a "solid no" vote. A majority of the 10 elected substitute members (who serve as substitute representatives in the event that an MP cannot attend a parliamentary session) also supported same-sex marriage. On 29 September 2021, the Landtag held a debate in which the majority of political parties broadly agreed that same-sex marriage should be legalized. It called for a public consultation process before legislating on the issue. On 11 August 2022, Prince Alois said that same-sex marriage was "not a major problem". On 21 September 2022, a motion calling on the government to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage was submitted to the Landtag by 15 out of the 25 sitting members. The motion was discussed in the plenary session on 2 November 2022, and was passed by a 23–2 vote.
  
  On 11 July 2023, the government approved a consultation report regarding proposed changes to three existing laws as part of the motion's implementation: the Marriage Act, the Partnership Act, and the Personal and Company Act. The consultation period ended on 10 October 2023. In August 2023, Prime Minister Daniel Risch said that the legalization of same-sex marriage "should be coming very soon". On 6 February 2024, the government published the results of the consultation report and introduced a bill amending the three aforementioned laws to the Landtag. Under the proposal, no new registered partnerships would be established in Liechtenstein, although existing ones would continue to be recognised and could be converted into marriage via a simple procedure. The bill passed its first reading on 8 March 2024 with 24 votes in favor and one against.
  
  A final vote on the legislation took place on 16 May, where it passed 24–1. Before the vote, parties agreed that the bill would not be amended and that no referendum would be initiated by the Landtag. The legislation received royal assent from Prince Alois and was published in the Liechtensteinisches Landesgesetzblatt on 9 July 2024. It came into effect on 1 January 2025. Article 1 of the Marriage Act (German: Ehegesetz) was amended to read: