Taiwan’s top court rules in favour of same-sex marriage
TAIWAN - Taiwan is to become the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, after the island’s constitutional court ruled current laws defining unions as between a man and a woman are invalid. Taiwan’s highest court, the council of grand justices, said barring gay couples from marrying violated “the people’s freedom of marriage” and “the people’s right to equality”. “Sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that is resistant to change,” the court said in its ruling. “The freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex, once legally recognised, will constitute the collective basis, together with opposite-sex marriage, for a stable society.” The island’s parliament has two years to amend or enact laws addressing same-sex unions, otherwise gay couples will automatically be allowed to register under the current framework. Two of the 14 justices dissented and one recused himself.
The debate over the past year on same-sex marriage and the court’s ruling is unique in Asia, where attitudes towards gay couples remain hostile in many countries. The ruling comes after Chi Chia-wei, who has been campaigning for LGBT rights for decades, sued when he was barred from marrying his partner of 30 years, with the city government of Taipei supporting the lawsuit.
(Theguardian.com)