LGBT Caucus Celebrates First Asian Country to Achieve Marriage Equality

The LGBT Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i’s only political, legislative and/or policy organization dedicated to advocating for LGBTQIA rights, congratulates Taiwan’s LGBTQIA community as they achieve Marriage Equality and become the first Asian country to reach this historic milestone. On Friday, May 17, 2019, the Taiwanese Parliament in a vote of 66 to 27 passed this momentous legislation.

Taiwan Becoming the First Asian Country to Achieve Marriage Equality. Wikipedia Image.

Taiwan’s LGBTQIA community won a landmark court case in 2017 when the court ruled that same-sex couples had the constitutional right to marry. The court gave the Taiwan’s government until May 24, 2019, to extend these rights. There were three competing bills to achieve this requirement.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen requested that lawmakers to support the only bill that referred to same-sex partnerships as “marriage” and offered limited adoption rights and this is the bill that passed. The bill will take effect when President Ing-wen passes it into law. The other two bills were put forward by conservative lawmakers and referred to marriage equality as “same-sex family relationships” or “same-sex unions” and offered no adoption rights.

“Today is a great day for justice and equality. Not just for Taiwan’s LGBTQIA community but for all the members our diverse community around the globe as this momentous occasion brings Marriage Equality to a new continent.” said Michael Golojuch, Jr., Chair of the LGBT Caucus, “We hope that others will use this momentum to bring justice equality to every corner of the world.”

The LGBT Caucus will be celebrating Taiwan’s victory at their 4th annual Marriage Equality Celebration that is happening on Sunday, June 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dave & Buster’s Paina Hale located at 1030 Auahi St. in Honolulu.