Court rules against couple in China's first same-sex marriage case
A judge has ruled against a gay couple in China's first same-sex marriage case.
The couple went to court Wednesday morning against a local civil affairs bureau in the city of Changsha that refused to issue them a marriage registration certification.
They were hoping that a judge would overturn the bureau's ruling, on the grounds that Chinese marriage law does not explicitly say same-sex marriages are illegal.
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The couple's lawyer, Shi Fulong, told the press outside the courtroom that he hadn't expected the ruling to be passed so quickly; the verdict was out within hours.
"It goes against the spirit of the laws of the People's Republic of China," Shi said.
The couple have chosen to go by pseudonyms Sun Wenlin and Hu Mingliang to the media. Sun said he would follow up with an appeal, and plans to pursue all legal options.
Sun and Hu had initially gone to the government bureau in June 2015 to apply for a marriage licence, but was told that marriage was only to be between a man and a woman, reported Caijing.
The lawsuit is a landmark case in China, where same-sex marriage is not legally recognised, and comes amid growing awareness of LGBTI issues in the country. The Communist government has generally frowned on non-traditional expressions of gender and sexuality.
The couple was greeted by several hundred supporters outside the courthouse.
On Wednesday morning, the couple was greeted by several hundred supporters outside the courthouse.
Online on Twitter-like Chinese social network Weibo, the news of their defeat in court was met with mixed reactions, but many top voted comments were in support of the couple.
A user, Hazel Summer, said: "There are more than 70 million gay people in China, can you ignore them?"
Qiu Xiang J, said: "The comments here from straight males are disgusting, blindly discriminating against others. Vomit."
Aning_tranquility said: "There are feelings you can't try to explain. There's no right or wrong, but homosexuals do not have a lot of protection legally. There are a lot of gay people in the country, and in the world, they just want to be with someone, and to be married to them, just like straight people do."
Many of the users who reacted negatively criticised the couple's decision to go to court.
Sagittarius said: "Emotionally, I can't accept (gay people)."
Mushroom Sister said: "Gay marriage is illegal, so (the court) can't abide by it."
Likai de Ahfei said: "The trial is a waste of national resources, and deprives others who legitimately want to seek civil justice."
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
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Topics LGBTQ
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
