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Letters | Hong Kong LGBT rights must not be left to the courts
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I am writing in support of the article, “Lead on recognising same-sex unions in Hong Kong must start with government not courts” (September 27). The government should take the lead on legislating on same-sex marriage, instead of leaving it to court decisions with respect to legal challenges in support of LGBT rights.
All people are born equal in this world. They have the rights and freedom to choose their path in life without interference. Article 37 of the Basic Law protects the freedom of marriage of Hong Kong residents. This should apply equally to all couples, same-sex or otherwise.
It is a shame for a city like Hong Kong to have no laws protecting same-sex unions, as seen in the High Court rejecting Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit’s lawsuit seeking recognition for same-sex marriages performed overseas. Hong Kong has four anti-discrimination laws, relating to sex, disability, family status and race. Why is there none against LGBT discrimination? As Sham argued, the failure to recognise same-sex marriages violates the right to equality under Article 25.
More than 30 countries legally accept same-sex unions, starting with Denmark in 1989 and taken further by the Netherlands in 2001 when it fully legalised same-sex marriage. Taiwan blazed a trail in Asia when it joined that list in May last year.
In most of these countries, marriage equality was gained through legislation, granting same-sex couples equal rights and access to welfare. The most important thing is that those who legislated on this did not see societies upended, or large-scale disruptions. I hope the government will act to legislate on same-sex marriage rights to protect human rights in Hong Kong.
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