Still, Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage has brought forth a wave of relief and hope for many LGBTQ communities in Asia. However, in many Asian countries homosexuality is still criminalized - Brunei recently passed a law that would see individuals convicted of gay sex stoned to death. However they still cannot adopt non-biological children or have transnational marriages.Īcross Asia, Thailand is also close to passing a law that would allow same-sex unions. Same-sex couples are allowed to adopt the biological children of their partner and are entitled to inheritance rights. Though a 2018 referendum led to voters rejecting same-sex marriage, the government unveiled a “permanent union” bill to sidestep the referendum vote.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 24th, 2019, after a landmark ruling from Taiwan’s constitutional court stating that prohibiting same-sex couples from becoming legally married is unconstitutional.
