Supporters of LGBT rights were filled with optimism late last month when the Executive Yuan submitted its draft bill to legalize same-sex marriage and again on Tuesday when lawmakers voted to advance the bill directly to a second reading.
However, it might be a little early to be optimistic, as lawmakers are also expected to vote on whether to let a draft bill against same-sex marriage bypass committee review and move directly to a second reading, which would require cross-party negotiations.
If that happens, the two bills would be deliberated together by lawmakers from different political parties, some of whom, including Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members, are conservative and wary of the consequences they might face in next year’s presidential and legislative elections if they are seen as supportive of same-sex marriage.
That creates uncertainty about the kind of rights same-sex couples would have after everything is settled.
According to local media reports, the conservative bill is designed to allow same-sex couples to create an intimate life together through unions other than marriage, as defined by the Civil Code, which currently stipulates that an agreement to marry shall be made by “the male and the female parties in their own concord.”
The conservative bill defines the union of two persons of the same gender as a “relationship between two family members of the same gender.” Although it entitles both “family members” to be the other person’s healthcare proxy and forbids polygamy — by banning either party from entering another “family relationship” — it does not mention the adoption of children.
To increase its chance of passage, the bill’s creators have adopted a similar approach to the Executive Yuan in naming it, using a “neutral” appellation to avoid being seen as discriminating against certain groups.
While the Executive Yuan calls its draft bill the “enforcement act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748,” named after the Council of Grand Justices’ constitutional interpretation issued in May 2017, which ruled that the Civil Code’s prohibition of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, the conservative bill is reportedly called “enforcement act of referendum No. 12.”
Referendum No. 12, which was passed on Nov. 24 last year, asked voters: “Do you agree that the right to persons of the same sex to create a permanent union should be guaranteed by an institution other than marriage as defined by the Civil Code?”
Clearly, the main purpose of the conservative bill is to ensure that marriage remains limited to heterosexuals.
The DPP has a legislative majority, but it is not certain whether some members will cave in to public pressure and accept compromises during cross-party negotiations, particularly considering that five of its lawmakers abstained from voting to advance the Executive Yuan’s bill to a second reading in a perceived attempt to distance themselves from it.
In addition, KMT Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁), who has painted himself as a rare, but staunch supporter of same-sex marriage in the conservative party, was absent from the legislative session.
Although he later defended himself on Facebook by saying that his absence did not equal opposition to the Executive Yuan’s bill — which confers almost all the rights that heterosexual couples enjoy under the Civil Code on couples of the same gender — it nevertheless raised the question of whether support for LGBT rights in the legislature has waned due to electoral concerns.
It is too early to be optimistic or pessimistic, but hopefully, lawmakers understand what is truly at stake here: Taiwan’s reputation as a leading force in equality and human rights protection in Asia and beyond.
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