Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that current laws, which say that marriage is between a man and a woman, violate the Constitution paving the way for it to be the first in Asia to achieve marriage equality.
In a case brought by a veteran LGBTQ activist with support from authorities in the capital city of Taipei, the court ruled that denying same-sex couples the ability to marry is a “violation of both the people’s freedom of marriage as protected by Article 22 and the people’s right to equality as guaranteed by Article 7 of the [Taiwan] Constitution.”
The National Yuan, or legislature, will now need to amend the relevant marriage laws to facilitate the court’s decision. If the legislature fails to do so within two years, marriage equality will automatically become the law of the land.
“The decision by Taiwan’s Constitutional Court is a huge victory in ensuring the right of loving and committed same-sex couples to marry,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We congratulate the Marriage Equality Coalition in Taiwan who worked tirelessly to make this momentous day a reality, and we urge the National Yuan to take swift action facilitating the court’s decision. Coming at a time when LGBTQ people around the globe are being targeted and harassed just because of who they are, this victory reinvigorates our crucially important work to advance equality.”
