‘Even if marriage equality were to be realized this time around, which appears increasingly unlikely, the LGBTQ community will not easily forget Tsai’s betrayal.’
The News Lens
Date: 2016/12/10
By: M. Bob Kao
Last month, the international media proclaimed that marriage equality was all but a done deal in
Photo Credit: AP/達志影像
Taiwan. With long-time advocate and Democratic Progressive Party legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) leading the charge as the sponsor of the most widely supported of the three bills legalizing same-sex marriage, the result appeared inevitable. But as anticipated by local activists, detractors have come out of the woodwork to stall the process, muddle the debate and obstruct the bills.
One of the legal arguments opponents have put forth against marriage equality is that it is not supported by international law. They claim international law limits marriage to between a woman and a man and does not recognize same-sex marriage as a human right.
Few serious international law scholars believe that using international human rights conventions, like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the European Convention on Human Rights, to oppose same-sex marriage would be legally persuasive. Even assuming international law does not mandate same-sex marriage, it does not follow that it bars it. Opponents have been unable to articulate why Taiwan should conform to jurisprudence that has not kept up with recent international development and why Taiwan cannot be a leader in human rights. [FULL STORY]
