Taiwan legalizes gay marriage
This approval places Taiwan at the forefront of the growing movement for gay rights in Asia.
Taiwan's parliament legalized same-sex marriage on Friday, an unprecedented event in Asia after the government survived a last-ditch attempt by conservatives to pass a sweetened version.
The island's deputies comfortably approved the law that allows same-sex couples to form "permanent exclusive unions" and a clause that will allow them to request government agencies to "register marriage.
This approval, which places Taiwan at the forefront of the growing gay rights movement in Asia, is an important victory for Taiwan's LGBT community that fought for years to obtain rights similar to those of heterosexual couples.
In May of 2017, the Constitutional Court of the island issued a historical opinion that judges unconstitutional the fact of depriving people of the same sex of the right to marry.
He then gave the government until May 24, 2019 to change the law warning him that if he did nothing gay marriage would become legal.
In recent months the conservative opposition mobilized against this legislation and presented alternative bills that advocated limited unions between people of the same sex.
The parliament, which on Friday pronounced itself on three different proposals, adopted the one promoted by the government, the most progressive and the only one that uses the word "marriage".
Hundreds of gay rights advocates rallied on Friday in heavy rains in front of parliament during the debate over the law that sparked a strong division of opinion in Taiwan.
Taiwan's parliament legalized same-sex marriage on Friday, an unprecedented event in Asia after the government survived a last-ditch attempt by conservatives to pass a sweetened version.
The island's deputies comfortably approved the law that allows same-sex couples to form "permanent exclusive unions" and a clause that will allow them to request government agencies to "register marriage.
This approval, which places Taiwan at the forefront of the growing gay rights movement in Asia, is an important victory for Taiwan's LGBT community that fought for years to obtain rights similar to those of heterosexual couples.
In May of 2017, the Constitutional Court of the island issued a historical opinion that judges unconstitutional the fact of depriving people of the same sex of the right to marry.
He then gave the government until May 24, 2019 to change the law warning him that if he did nothing gay marriage would become legal.
In recent months the conservative opposition mobilized against this legislation and presented alternative bills that advocated limited unions between people of the same sex.
The parliament, which on Friday pronounced itself on three different proposals, adopted the one promoted by the government, the most progressive and the only one that uses the word "marriage".
Hundreds of gay rights advocates rallied on Friday in heavy rains in front of parliament during the debate over the law that sparked a strong division of opinion in Taiwan.
