| In most places around the world, life for LGBTQ people has gotten significantly better over the last decade. But as developments this week in India, the US, Singapore and Japan demonstrate, there's much progress to be made still. And even the wins aren't always so clear. Singapore, for example, officially decriminalized sex between men – a colonial-era law that was rarely if ever enforced. But at the same time, it amended the constitution to give parliament the authority to define marriage. As of now, that rules out same-sex couples, putting Singapore in the awkward position of affirming sex but denying marriage in the name of conservative values. Meanwhile, in Japan, weeks after Tokyo began officially registering same-sex partnerships, the District Court ruled that the country's lack of recognition for same-sex marriage doesn't violate the constitution. But at the same time, the judge said that the absence of legal protections for gay couples poses a "grave threat" to their rights. India's highest court seems to be moving in a more linear and consistent way. First it decriminalized homosexuality in 2018. Earlier this year, it affirmed the rights of non-traditional families, including same-sex couples, and last Friday, agreed to hear arguments on same-sex marriage. "Equality is not achieved with the decriminalization of homosexuality alone but must extend to all spheres of life including the home, the workplace, and public places," new chief justice D.Y. Chandrachud said in August. In the US, it's the legislature, not the Supreme Court, seeking to codify protections for LGBTQ people. The Senate this week passed the Respect for Marriage Act, requiring states to recognize marriages legitimately conducted anywhere in the union. In theory, the new US legislation should be unnecessary: A Supreme Court decision affirmed gay marriage seven years ago. But the makeup of the court has changed significantly, becoming more conservative in its values and more liberal in its disregard for precedent. "It's a scary but necessary acknowledgment that despite all the progress we made, the constitutional right to same-sex marriage is not even a decade old," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "What the court has decided in the past can be easily taken away in the future." – Janet Paskin | 
No comments:
Post a Comment