Enacting a separate law for same-sex couples is discriminatory, New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said yesterday after an online media outlet made public a report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice on the impact of a “same-sex partnership act.”
Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) in December said that the ministry was evaluating the possibility of setting up a separate partnership act for same-sex couples — instead of amending the Civil Code to allow same-sex marriage.
Online media outlet Up Media on Thursday said it had obtained a copy of the report commissioned by the ministry on the proposed same-sex partnership bill, which recommends following a gradual legislative process and claims that a separate partnership act for same-sex couples at this stage would be a way to avoid intense social polarization.
According to the report, same-sex couples are not to be legal “spouses,” but “same-sex partners” to whom the Civil Code terms concerning properties, inheritance and adoption governing married would apply.
The termination of the partnership would also be effected by mutual consent of the two parties, as a divorce of a married couple, the report said.
The proposed act would also prohibit a person from forming a partnership with more than one person, or to simultaneously have a partner and a spouse, it said.
Commenting on the report, Hsu said on Facebook that as marriage equality is a human rights issue, “putting forward a separate law would not only be discriminatory, it would also not make the government’s life easier.”
“From the report commissioned by the ministry and the message released recently by a lawmaker of the ruling party [referring to Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟)] that ‘a separate law is no less progressive,’ it is not hard to conclude that the government, while having the will to face the issue of marriage equality, has decided to break the stalemate with a separate law” rather than amending the Civil Code, Hsu said.
He encouraged the ministry to submit its version of the bill to the legislature for review as soon as next week, but stressed that “isolating same-sex couples as a special group is in itself a discriminatory act and no excuses could save [the administration] from moral condemnation.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁) yesterday also accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of stalling marriage equality-related bills, after the Cabinet on Thursday announced, after a discussion with the DPP caucus, that such bills would not be listed at the top of the caucus’ legislative agenda.
“The negotiation platform set up by the Presidential Office did not help at all as we are back to square one. This is one issue that is not going to be resolved by simply having those supporting or opposing same-sex marriage talk and commending each other for holding a dialogue,” Jason Hsu said. “Both sides would undoubtedly be even more unyielding on their respective stances and the situation would become even more difficult for the government.”
A government push for same-sex marriage would be a demonstration of political will in response to social progress, he said, adding that a political leader trying to pander to all parties would be a sign of retrogression.
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