EDITORIAL: Celebrating gay unions milestone – 台北時報

Monday marked the second anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan, and the numbers do show that things are slowly getting better, despite opponents using the occasion to paint the LGBTQ community in a bad light.

Yes, there are still outstanding issues to tackle and a lot of gender equity awareness to promote, but there are some positives.

An Executive Yuan survey showed that 60.4 percent of respondents supported same-sex marriage — up from 52.5 last year. Considering that only 37.4 percent supported it in 2018, this is a great leap. The past two years show that legalization would not drastically change society as some feared.

The number of homosexual couples getting married has slowed, but that is to be expected after the initial rush for those who had been waiting to get married for years. Many have also gotten divorced, just as heterosexual couples do, and this number should not be used as fodder for anti-LGBTQ groups to attack same-sex marriage.

These groups continue to spew their vitriol, including the Protection of Family Value Students Organization, which decries things such as rainbow-colored running tracks at elementary schools.

“We deeply mourn the two-year anniversary of libertinism ravaging our beautiful island,” the group wrote on Facebook on Monday.

This is actually hilarious, because the term “libertinism” was used sarcastically by YouTuber Retina (視網膜) before Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 in 2017, which paved the way for legalization.

Interestingly, the organization edited the message shortly after posting it, issuing an apology that said the wording was inappropriate and that the social media editor who wrote it has been suspended.

The organization’s stance obviously still stands, judging from its other posts — but it is getting less support and those who agree with its stance seem more reluctant to speak out.

Other numbers in the survey — such as the percentage of those who support same-sex couples adopting children and those who are willing to share a bathroom with transgender people — have also increased from last year.

The survey, which was conducted by the Taiwan Equality Campaign, showed that numbers were up across the board compared with last year, although there is still a significant gap when it comes to accepting other people being gay versus their own children.

The highest number for acceptance is a gay colleague or classmate at 72.2 percent, compared with 68.5 percent for a relative and 52.3 percent for a child.

Coming out to family members is still one of the bigger challenges, and while some parents worry about their child being discriminated against, the survey showed that things are only going to get better.

There are still outstanding issues, such as adoption rights and a prohibition on Taiwanese-Chinese same-sex unions, and they will keep being highlighted. There are also many problems involving transsexual people, including workplace discrimination and hurdles faced when changing gender.

The nation should be glad for its advancements, but should not grow complacent.

The two-year anniversary also marks the expiration of the results of the 2018 national referendum that barred the government from changing the Civil Code to legalize same-sex marriage, instead having to create a special law.

Not only does it provide different rights, many think that having to fall under a special law still means that they are not equal.

The government has not responded — it does have its hands full at the moment — but it should be interesting to see what it does after the COVID-19 outbreak eases.