Taiwan is one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage

Taiwan is now a step closer to marriage equality, and will become the first Asian government to make same-sex marriage legal, if it eventually passes a new amendment to civil law.

On Monday, parliament passed the first draft of a marriage bill, which adds a line to recognise "both parties of a same-sex marriage," in addition to marriage between "man and woman."

Amid months of fierce rallies from both opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage, the line was initially meant to change "man and woman" to "two parties." But to tackle opposition to the amendment, a member of parliament proposed to add the line, keeping "man and woman," reports Taipei Times.

In addition to marriage, the amendments to the Civil Code will also introduce anti-discriminatory provisions, making it illegal to reject people from adopting based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

One of the lawmakers behind the new draft, Yu Mei-nu, addressed opponents' fears, saying: "The legislation will not destroy the family or abolish marriage...The public can rest assured that the legislation will not change heterosexual marriage in any way, but it will extend [the rights and obligations of] such marriages to same-sex couples."

"We are not God. How do we have the right to decide on other people’s human rights?" she said.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It will take an estimated six months or so for parliament to deliberate and pass the amendments through various layers of approval before marriage equality supporters will know if they're victorious.

Taiwan is considered progressive in Asia, for its fierce support for democracy and human rights. This year, it elected its first female president, Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party is picking up the marriage equality debate, after the former ruling party Kuomintang left it on the shelf for decades.