Same-sex marriage is long-overdue in Hong Kong, but the members of the city’s government refuse to change their mind. Image via Yahoo News
Even though the majority of people in Hong Kong are in support of same-sex marriage, the city’s government continues to support the ban on marriage equality because some believe that heterosexual marriages will lose meaning if gay people are allowed to marry, according to Straits Times.
However, the people of Hong Kong are fighting back against this ban. A woman who is known simply as MK is suing the Hong Kong government because the ban that prevents her from entering a civil partnership with her partner is unconstitutional. This case is being heard at the Court of First Instances and I hope that the court rules in MK’s favor.
Unfortunately, the same tired arguments against same-sex marriage are being made. For instance, government lawyer Stewart Wong said to the court that if marriage gets granted to same-sex couples, marriage would be “diluted and diminished” and “no longer special” for heterosexual couples. So he basically admitted that he thinks that straight people have more inherent worth than LGBTQ people because they’re attracted to the opposite sex. I, for one, see that as a flawed metric to measure one’s worth but maybe that’s just me… He also said that civil unions shouldn’t be allowed because they would “undermine the traditional institution of marriage.” Okay.
This refusal is interesting as Taiwan, the tiny island country off the coast of China just voted to allow same-sex marriage, and while geographic proximity shouldn’t matter in regard to civil rights, that ruling provides good contrast between one country to another. It is also interesting to note that even though so many people in Hong Kong want marriage equality to be a reality, government officials are unwilling to give the people what they want. It makes you wonder who they’re trying to satisfy. Hopefully, one day LGBTQ residents of Hong Kong will be able to marry. For now it’s important that they keep fighting for equality.
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Source: Straits Times
