Taiwan Court Legalizes Gay Marriage in Historic First for Asia
- Tribunal orders lawmakers to change law within two years
- Island would become first place in Asia to guarantee right
Same-sex activists hug outside the parliament in Taipei on May 24.
Photographer: Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled that the island’s laws must be changed to allow gay marriage, paving the way for it to become the first place in Asia to guarantee the right.
The Justices of the Constitutional Court said in a ruling Wednesday that a civil law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection. The case was brought by gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei, 58, after the Taipei city government rejected his and his long-time partner’s application to marry in 2013.