More Coverage of Swiss Proposal

Salon.com covers the proposal to drop Switzerland’s bigoted law against some forms of consanguineous sex.

Marriage between second-degree relatives (aunt/uncle, niece/nephew) is already legal in Switzerland, but the new measure would overturn the ban on consensual sexual relationships between siblings, and between parents and their adult children. (Sexual relationships with underage children would, of course, remain illegal.) The text of the bill has yet to be released, but skeeved-out opponents have heard more than enough. Barbara Schmid Federer, a member of The Christian People's Party of Switzerland, told the Telegraph that the proposal was "completely repugnant" and that she "could not countenance painting out such a law from the statute books."

Why not? Switzerland does not criminalize every thing that someone thinks is bad.

From the Telegraph…

Daniel Vischer, a Green party MP, said he saw nothing wrong with two consenting adults having sex, even if they were related.

"Incest is a difficult moral question, but not one that is answered by penal law," he said.

Thank you, Daniel Vischer. The consensual sex life of adults should not be the business of the government.

Switzerland May Lift Ban on Consanguineous Sex

Turns out that the reasoning to keep laws against consensual sex is full of holes. So the Swiss may lift them.

The upper house of the Swiss parliament has drafted a law decriminalising sex between consenting family members which must now be considered by the government.

Switzerland insists that children within families will continue to be protected by laws governing abuse and paedophilia.

Imagine that. They might change their laws so that they make sense, instead of criminalizing consensual sex.

Politicians of both the left and right are said to be outraged at the suggested change.

On what grounds? I mean, besides bigotry?

But Green party MP and lawyer Daniel Vischer said he saw nothing wrong with two consenting adults having sex - even if they were related.

Good for him, but there’s no reason to limit the number to two.

Barbara Schmid Federer of The Christian People's Party of Switzerland slammed the proposal, saying it was "completely repugnant".

She said: "I for one could not countenance painting out such a law from the statute books."

Why not?

The Protestant People's Party is also opposed to decriminalising the offence which at present carries a maximum three year jail term.

A spokesman for the party said: "Murder is also quite rare in Switzerland but no-one suggests that we remove that as an office from the statutes."

Yes, but there’s a difference. Murder hurts someone. There’s a victim. There’s no victim when unattached adults of different generations, different races, the same sex, or the same family get together and choose to engage in sex.

From another article…

The law’s been taking several small steps in this direction already. Ten years ago, the civil code was revised to allow marriages between aunts and nephews or uncles and nieces.

It’s time to stop legislating what happens in bedrooms.

Incestous relationships between adults are legal in a number of countries, according to a study by the Max Planck Institute, including France, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Turkey, China, the Ivory Coast and in three U.S. states.

The move of the world that moves towards full marriage equality, the better.

This Swiss Court Ruling is Full of Holes

Switzerland still hasn’t granted same-sex couples full marriage equality, and it continues to practice harsher bigotry towards the polyamorous and consanguineous. A Turkish man was denied Swiss citizenship back in May because he was married to more than one woman.

The man became a naturalized Swiss citizen due to his 26-year marriage to a Swiss woman.

But when it came known that he was also married to a woman in Turkey, whom he visited four times a year, the Federal Office for Migration canceled his citizenship status.

This is unfair.

His Swiss wife also was unaware of his Turkish wife.

That is a problem. He should have been open with her. But that is a matter between them and nobody else’s business.

The Federal Court upheld the ruling today, saying naturalization by marriage requires mutual monogamy.

So someone who wants more than one spouse need not apply for citizenship. Why the hate?