LGBT pastor’s request for no-arrest guarantee tossed, though judge agrees same-sex religious ceremony did not violate law
- Mr Justice Anderson Chow said court could make guarantees against future prosecution only in the most ‘exceptional circumstances’
- The transgender pastor was arrested, then released, in August 2017 after presiding over a same-sex wedding ceremony
A Hong Kong court on Wednesday refused to assure a pastor from an LGBT church he would not be prosecuted for officiating weddings for same-sex couples.
But Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming of the High Court concurred with Reverend Marietta Balaoro’s assertion he was not in violation of the city’s marriage laws when performing religious rites that had no legal consequences.
Balaoro, a transgender Filipino man who was ordained at the LGBTS Christian Church (Philippines) seven years ago, was arrested in August 2017 on suspicion of breaching the Marriage Ordinance for performing same-sex holy unions, a lesser form of partnership that does not entail the marriage vow. He was later released without charge.
The church, which organises gatherings mostly at Studio 94 in Sheung Wan, does not own its own premises in Hong Kong and has no license to officiate weddings.
Balaoro said the ceremonies in question were not legally binding and the participants were merely practising their religious faith.