Taiwan becomes first country in Asia to legalize gay marriage
[Image credit: QZ]
Gay marriage in Taiwan is now recognized after a panel of fourteen judges “ruled that the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman in Taiwan’s civil law violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection,” reports The Straits Times.
Check out what this means for Taiwan below.
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This case made it to Taiwan's Constitutional Court after activist Chi Chia-wei had his and his long-time partner's marriage application rejected in 2013.
“Gay rights are human rights, too,” Chi told Bloomberg. “Taiwan has become a sophisticated society. Our marriage system and regulations should also evolve with time.”
Like the fight for gay marriage to be legalized in the United States, both sides were very vocal in the leadup to this momentous decision, including Chen Chih-hung, chairman of the conservative Faith and Hope League.
“Gay marriages and regular marriages are fundamentally different in nature; so they shouldn’t be ruled by the same law … Taiwan’s society is still very divided over whether to legalize gay marriage. This is a highly controversial issue so at least we need to reach some sort of consensus before proceeding,” Chen told Bloomberg.
However, President Tsai Ing-wen has been openly supportive of gay marriage for decades. Tsai made a post on Facebook after the ruling asking the country to “see each other as brothers and sisters.”
This ruling requires that the federal government changes the law to recognize gay marriage in two years. If the government doesn't change the law after two years, gay marriages will automatically be recognized and same-sex couples will be allowed to register for marriage without any issues.
“If relevant laws are not amended or enacted within the said two years, two persons of the same sex who intend to create the said permanent union shall be allowed to have their marriage registration effectuated at the authorities in charge of household registration, by submitting a written document signed by two or more witnesses in accordance with the said Marriage Chapter,” wrote the Constitutional Court in a press release.
