Lawmakers in Hong Kong have rejected a movement that will have lead the way to legalising same-sex unions, in a region where no nation lets in homosexual or lesbian to marry.
Gay lawmaker Raymond Chan submitted a bill seeking a “small step” towards recognition of same-sex unions and LGBT+ rights.
But the bill, which contained few concrete provisions, was rejected in a 27-24 vote in the city legislature.
In Asia, there are no nations to allow same-sex couples to marry or enter civil unions of any kind. China is a very conservative country and the people who don’t support same-sex marriage say such unions could destroy society and family institutions.
The vote comes less than a week after Hong Kong’s LGBT+ community took to the streets for the city’s annual Pride parade.
Thousands of people attended the parade on 17 November, with attendees calling for better rights protections.
Chan’s motion urged the city’s government “to study the formulation of policies for homosexual couples to enter into a union so that they can enjoy equal rights as heterosexual couples”.
Lawmaker Priscilla Leung does not agree with Chan’s motion and he said that marriage between men and women should be kept in Hong Kong and “refrain from shaking existing marriage institutions”.
> Shiuly Rina
Hong Kong Parliament Denies to Accept Same-Sex Unions
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