The gender equality advocacy group Equal Love Taiwan (婚姻平權大平台) yesterday encouraged people to let go of prejudice and discrimination and to hold on to blessings and happiness so that Taiwan becomes a harmonious society in which people have respect for each other.
The group issued the statement yesterday to mark the 100th day of the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法), which legalized same-sex marriage in Taiwan. The act officially took effect on May 24.
Many same-sex couples got married on May 24, including social media celebrities Marc (小銘) and Shane (小玄), who run a Facebook fan page called “Marc and Shane’s Husbands Daily Life (小銘小玄夫夫日常).”
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
Marc and Shane on Friday shared their thoughts about being married for 100 days on their fan page.
One memory they shared was of walking in Taipei’s Shilin Night Market when “three fashionably dressed men suddenly came up to us and gave us their blessings.”
“One said to us ‘wishing you both happiness,’ while another said, ‘keep it up forever’ and gave us a cute heart-shaped hand gesture,” they wrote.
“We thought to ourselves, maybe this is the real meaning of legalizing same-sex marriage — allowing everyone to really understand the meaning of love,” the couple wrote.
A man surnamed Chang (張) said he used to think all older adults were against same-sex marriage, but he was deeply moved after seeing some elderly people wear the LGBT+ pride flag.
He feels that more people are willing to accept same-sex marriage.
Lo Yu-cheng (羅羽宸), a woman who plans to marry her same-sex partner, said discussions about homosexuality are more common after Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and that some people have become more supportive after taking part in these discussions.
Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔), convener of the advocacy group Equal Love Taiwan, said: “Legalizing same-sex marriage is not the end of the LGBT rights movement, but only the beginning of more presence and conversations.”
“We hope more married same-sex couples can share their stories about married life with society, to let people know that same-sex couples are the same, doing their jobs and settling down with a family,” she said.
According to an Executive Yuan administrative performance report sent to the Legislative Yuan on Friday, after the act was passed by the legislature on May 17 and implemented on May 24, household registration offices nationwide received 1,290 registrations for same-sex marriages and two divorces as of the end of June.
Additional reporting by Peng Wang-hsin
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