Around 60 lesbian couples will marry during what will be Taiwan’s largest same-sex wedding with the hope of following New York in legalizing gay marriage, according to AFP.
The private event will take place later this month during an overnight party in Taipei, and over 1,000 people have purchased tickets. Those people who purchased tickets include visitors from China, Thailand and the US, according to event organizer AJ Wang.
“We are celebrating the recent legalization of gay marriage in New York and we hope that Taiwan will make the same move in the near future,” she said. “We also want the public to see that so many gay couples are committed to each other and they deserve to be recognized and treated fairly.”
Despite gay marriage being illegal in Taiwan, organizers of the ceremony do not expect the government to intervene.
Taiwan’s gay rights groups said that the gay pride parade they hosted last year was the largest in Asia with nearly 30,000 people in attendance, a sign that Taiwan is shifting towards being more open-minded about the homosexual population.
In 2003, the cabinet drafted a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, as well as allow same-sex couples to adopt children, but it has not been examined by parliament. This bill is the first in Asia to promise marriage and adoption rights to gay couples.
Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has stated he respected same-sex unions, but in order for the government to go forward with the legislation, a public consensus on the matter would need to be reached.
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