It was a jubilant scene in the Taiwanese capital of Taipei on Friday after lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Equality advocates celebrated outside the legislature, chanting, clapping and waving signs and rainbow flags, reports Austin Ramzy of the New York Times. Lawmakers faced pressure from conservative groups opposed to same-sex marriage and in a series of referendums held last year, voters rejected the push to define marriage as anything other than an institution that exists between a man and a woman.
Parliament subsequently considered several different bills. Another bill contained a clause that would allow family members to request the annulment of same-sex unions. But it was legislation submitted by the majority Democratic Progressive Party that passed on Friday. Starting on May 24, same-sex couples will be able to officially register their marriages. The AP reports that at least 20 couples are planning a mass ceremony on that day, followed by a party outside the presidential office.
In other parts of the continent, however, conservative political values still run deep. In a particularly dramatic example, Brunei this year made homosexual sex punishable by death βthough, in the face of international pressure, it subsequently said that it would extend a moratorium on capital punishment to the new penal code.
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