In landmark ruling, Japan court says it is 'unconstitutional' to bar same-sex marriage
TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese court ruled on Wednesday that not allowing same-sex couples to get married is “unconstitutional,” setting a precedent in the only G7 nation not to fully recognise same-sex partnership.
The ruling by a district court, the first in Japan on the legality of same-sex marriages, is a major symbolic victory in a country where the constitution still defines marriage as being based on “the mutual consent of both sexes”.
Following the ruling, plaintiffs and supporters unfurled rainbow flags and banners in front of the court.
While a new law will be needed before same-sex marriages can actually take place - which could take some time in socially conservative Japan - the plaintiffs’ lawyer called the ruling “revolutionary”, while LGBT activists deemed it life-changing.
“Its value is absolutely measureless,” said 44-year old Gon Matsunaka, director of activist group Marriage for All Japan and representative of Pride House Tokyo.
“Until the ruling was announced, we didn’t know this was what we’d get and I’m just overjoyed.”
While Japanese law is considered relatively liberal by Asian standards, social attitudes have kept the LGBT community largely invisible in the world’s third largest economy. Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriages in 2019.
Under the current rules in Japan, same-sex couples are not allowed to legally marry, can’t inherit their partner’s assets - such as the house they may have shared - and also have no parental rights over their partners’ children.
Though partnership certificates issued by individual municipalities help same-sex couples to rent a place together and have hospital visitation rights, they still don’t give them the same full legal rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples.
“Sexual orientation cannot be changed or selected by a person’s will,” the ruling said. “It is discriminatory treatment ... that they cannot receive even some of the legal benefits that heterosexuals do.”
The Sapporo District Court threw out the demand for damages by the six plaintiffs - two couples of men and one of women - who had asked that the Japanese government pay 1 million yen ($9,168.42) each in acknowledgment of the pain they suffered by not being able to legally marry.
But Takeharu Kato, the lawyer of the plaintiffs, called the verdict overall “revolutionary”, while urging parliament to quickly start working on a law to make same-sex marriage possible.
“We praise this ruling for taking in the plaintiffs’ earnest appeals,” the lawyer told a news conference.
SAME JOYS, SAME PROBLEMS
Similar cases are currently being heard in four other courts around Japan and this ruling may indirectly influence their outcome.
“Only because the gender of the person we love is different, we can’t get married. We live the same lives as heterosexuals, have the same troubles and the same joys,” said one of the plaintiffs, a woman known only as “E”.
“Though our lives are exactly the same, the nation wouldn’t recognise this.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference he had not read the ruling in detail but that the government would “carefully watch” the outcomes of the other court cases.
While homosexual sex has been legal in Japan since 1880, social stigma means many have yet to come out even to their families. The Japanese ruling also came just days after the Vatican said priests cannot bless same-sex unions.
Some in the business world say Japanese rules not allowing same-sex marriage hurt the country’s competitive advantage, by making it difficult for companies, especially foreign companies, to attract and keep highly-skilled labour in an increasingly international economy.
Tokyo residents also welcomed the ruling, saying it was about time things changed.
“Japan has always been conservative, but these days things are becoming more open,” said 60-year old dentist Kyoko Enomoto. “I think it will open up a lot more from now on.”
In landmark ruling, Japan court says it is '''unconstitutional''' to bar same-sex marriage | Reuters
Same-sex marriage referendum approved by wide margin in Switzerland
A nearly two-third majority, or 64 percent of the country, approved the measure in a referendum, which was conducted under the nation's direct democracy, Reuters reported.
The new legislation would legalize same-sex marriage and also gives same-sex couple the right to adopt children. Reuters reported that lesbian couples will be allowed to have children through a sperm donation, which had only been legal for heterosexual couples.
The new law will also allow foreign spouses of Swiss residents to apply for citizenship.
Swiss vote overwhelmingly for same-sex marriage in referendum
Last edited by S Landreth; 27-09-2021 at 03:58 AM.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
This same sex thing whether the wives,giks, gfs, in the orifi wigge about a bit go for a beer, or did my Karma Shutree have msiing pages ?
We did try Cosplay for a bit of sparkle took my socks off.
Off topic and condescending threads by you two should be directed over to here. > Havnfun & TheMutpack go at it.
The thread is about same sex marriage and you're the one that introduced your homophobia and sexual fantasies about men into it.
Homophobes Might Be Hidden Homosexuals - Scientific American
Just wondering, If I was a girl, and I had funny tingling feelings about another girl, what should I do to let her know about my tingling feelings?
Cubans have approved a sweeping “family law” code that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt as well as redefining rights for children and grandparents, officials said Monday, though opposition in the national referendum was unusually strong on the Communist Party-governed island.
The measure—which contains more than 400 articles—was approved by 66.9% to 33.1%, the president of the National Electoral Council, Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, told official news media, though returns from a few places remained to be counted.
The reforms had met unusually strong open resistance from the growing evangelical movement in Cuba—and many other Cubans—despite an extensive government campaign in favor of the measure, including thousands of informative meetings across the country and extensive media coverage backing it.
Cuban elections—in which no party other than the Communist is allowed—routinely produce victory margins of more than 90%—as did a referendum on a major constitutional reform in 2019.
The code would allow surrogate pregnancies, broader rights for grandparents in regard to grandchildren, protection of the elderly and measures against gender violence.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has promoted the law acknowledged questions about the measure as he voted on Sunday.
“Most of our people will vote in favor of the code, but it still has issues that our society as a whole does not understand,” he said.
The measure had been approved by Cuba’s Parliament, the National Assembly, after years of debate about such reforms.
A major supporter of the measure was Mariela Castro, director of the National Center for Sex Education, a promoter of rights for same-sex couples, daughter of former President Raul Castro and niece of his brother Fidel.
But there is a strong strain of social conservatism in Cuba and several religious leaders have expressed concern or opposition to the law, worrying it could weaken nuclear families.
While Cuba was officially—and often militantly—atheist for decades after the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro—Raul’s brother—it has become more tolerant of religions over the past quarter century. That has meant a greater opening not only the once-dominant Roman Catholic Church, but also to Afro-Cuban religions, protestants and Muslims.
Some of those churches took advantage of the opening in 2018 and 2019 to campaign against another plebiscite which would have rewritten the constitution in a way to allow gay marriage.
Opposition was strong enough that the government at that time backed away.
Cubans approve same-sex marriage and adoption by large margin in referendum
An excuse to crack open a box of Violet-Crumble Golden-Gaylords to celebrate the good news from the Caribbean
Cuba suffers complete blackout after storm
Cuba is completely without power after Hurricane Ian pummelled the western end of the island, its government has announced.
The electrical system is experiencing total collapse, officials said, after one of the main power plants could not be brought back online.
Two people were reported dead and buildings were damaged nationwide.
The category three hurricane, packing wind speeds of up to 195km/h (120mph), is now bearing down on Florida.
On Cuban state television on Tuesday, the head of the electrical energy authority announced that an island-wide blackout had occurred as a result of the national electrical system's breakdown, leaving 11 million people in the dark.
Florida fears catastrophic flooding as hurricane nears
How to prepare for a hurricane
A journalist with a state-run news agency reported that 100% of the electrical circuits in the country were out of service and that "the Antonio Guiteras thermo-electric power plant… could not be synchronised".
Based in Matanzas, 100km east of the capital Havana, Antonio Guiteras is the most important energy plant in Cuba. Its shutdown means there is currently no electricity generation anywhere on the island.
The owner of the famous Finca Robaina cigar producer posted photos on social media of the havoc wreaked by the hurricane in the tobacco farms.
"It was apocalyptic, a real disaster," wrote Hirochi Robaina.
Forecasters had warned that some regions of Cuba could see up to 30cm (12in) of rain under Hurricane Ian.
Mayelin Suarez, a resident of Pinar del Rio, said Monday night, when the storm hit, was "the darkest of her life".
"We almost lost the roof off our house," she told Reuters. "My daughter, my husband and I tied it down with a rope to keep it from flying away."
Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel visited the province and vowed that it would rise "above adversity", the Cuban presidency tweeted.
Predicted path of Hurricane Ian. Updated 27 September
1px transparent line
A 43-year-old woman in the province was killed after the walls of her home collapsed. A farmer in the town of San Juan y Martínez was electrocuted while trying to shut off a wind turbine used for irrigation, the New York Times reported.
The hurricane has been gathering force in the south-eastern Gulf of Mexico after leaving Cuba, says the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
On Tuesday night the storm was passing over the Florida Keys, a string of islands off the southern tip of the state.
It is projected to make landfall on Florida's west coast late on Wednesday.
The NHC says that Ian could be a category four hurricane by the time it strikes Florida's western coast, with wind speeds topping 130mph. Some 2.5 million people in Florida are under evacuation orders.
A satellite image of the stormImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,
A satellite image of the storm
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned in a news conference on Tuesday that the storm is "the real deal".
He declared a state of emergency for all of Florida over the weekend and has activated 5,000 National Guard troops.
The Tampa area could receive its first direct hit from a hurricane since 1921, officials say, and might see 3m (10ft) of storm surge along the coast.
Meteorologists have said flash flooding is possible in the Florida peninsula and Florida Keys as the hurricane approaches.
The neighbouring state of Georgia has also declared a state of emergency and placed 500 National Guard troops on standby.
Media caption,
Watch: Florida braces for Hurricane Ian
The White House has made its own emergency declaration, which will help federal and state officials co-ordinate disaster relief and assistance.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, spoke with Gov DeSantis, a Republican, on Tuesday evening, and the two committed to "continued close co-ordination", the White House said.
The Caribbean is still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Fiona, which tore through the region last week.
Moving northward to parts of the Atlantic Canada coastline and eastern Quebec, Fiona claimed two lives, washed homes into the sea and downed power lines over the weekend.
Hurricane Ian: Cuba suffers complete blackout after storm - BBC News
Australia Marks Five Years Of Marriage Equality - What's Next?
Five years after Australians voted to legalise gay marriages, LGBTQI advocates say “there is still more work to be done”. Since the historic vote, around 18,000 gay couples have got married, according to figures released by Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Out gay Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, who is married to his partner Victor Hoeld, was co-chair of the successful ‘Yes’ campaign.
“Australians from all walks of life came together to shape our nation as a fairer and more equal place for all,” said Greenwich, in a statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the announcement of the marriage equality vote results on November 15, 2017.
‘More Work To Do’
The national vote should not have been held in the first place. The then Liberal government could have passed the law in Parliament without a referendum and the resulting vicious ‘No’ campaign, according to Greenwich.
“We shouldn’t have needed to do this via a postal survey but because the former Federal Government wasn’t prepared to do its job, the Australian people stepped up and delivered a definitive result in support of LGBTIQA+ communities,” said Greenwich.
“The public vote we should have had at the time was for constitutional recognition of a voice to parliament, fortunately that vote is coming up and it’s incumbent on everyone involved in the YES marriage equality campaign, including myself, to do everything we can to make sure this next public vote is a success.”
Greenwich, who is planning to introduce an omnibus Equality Bill in NSW Parliament next year, said there was “more work to do”.
“I’m committed to introducing the Equality Bill in the next term of the NSW Parliament, which will remove all LGBTIQA+ discrimination from law and modernises our law to protect people on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity,” said the MP.
Yes, What’s Next?
Anna Brown, co-chair of the Marriage Equality campaign and CEO of LGBTQI Advocacy group Equality Australia, said the national vote was a “bittersweet day for our communities”. While gay couples got the right to marry, the day was preceded by a “divisive and unnecessary public debate about our lives and our families,” said Brown, adding that the fight for LGBTQI rights continues.
“Still today, many of us face discrimination at school, in our workplace or when accessing services. Violence against people in our communities still happens and the opponents who lobbied against marriage equality have shifted focus, doubling down on their attacks on trans and gender diverse people in Australia,” said Brown, in a statement.
Equality Australia on Tuesday launched a new campaign, YES, What’s Next? Ian Torpe, out gay Olympic swimming champion, will be the face of the campaign that seeks to create awareness about the fight ahead.
“The YES, What’s Next? pledge is a rallying cry to political leaders across the country to build a more fair, equal and just society by ending conversion practices, ensuring trans people are fully equal, protecting LGBTIQ+ students and staff from discrimination in religious school, and protecting intersex people from harm,” the five-time Olympic gold medalist said.
LGBTQIA+ sexuality
Straight/heterosexual: attracted the opposite sex or gender
Gay/homosexual: attracted to the same sex or gender
Lesbian: attractive to other women (and you are a woman)
Bisexual: attracted to more than one gender
Asexual: have no or less romantic or sexual attraction to others.
attracted to more than one species.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect,"
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