Now that we’re past Labor Day, legislatures and courts are getting back to work, and boy have we had a busy morning!
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled this morning that the government must provide some alternative to marriage to same-sex couples. The landmark judgment is a partial win for activists who had sought equal marriage rights or recognition of foreign marriages. The court gave the government two years to amend laws to create a separate institution like civil unions that can deal with the “real difficulties” faced by same-sex couples due to lack of relationship recognition, like rights around property, inheritance, medical decisions, etc. Hong Kong is part of China, but is administered separately due to its unique history as a British colony. LGBT activism is tied in with the territory’s pro-democracy activism and has come increasingly under government pressure as the Beijing authorities have attempted to exert control over the city.
While giving a boost to LGBT activists in China, some analysts think this may also be a boost to equal marriage activists in competing regional hubs like Japan and Singapore, where businesses are frequently making the case that better LGBT rights helps them attract top talent.
Also this morning, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Bulgaria violated the rights of same-sex couples by not offering a way to register their relationships, and ordered the government to offer some kind of civil union. Bulgaria has been recalcitrant about recognizing same-sex couples, going so far as to ignore European Court of Justice rulings it disagrees with (such as a ruling ordering it to recognize same-sex families of EU citizens, or issue a birth certificate to the child of a lesbian couple). This is the most direct ruling so far ordering Bulgaria to recognize same-sex couples, but it remains to be seen how the government will react to it. It’s also the latest in a series of cases from the ECHR that have established that European states are required to provide some recognition to same-sex couples.
Reports emerged over the weekend that the government of Greece plans to introduce a same-sex marriage bill in the coming months. The draft bill reportedly allows adoption and recognizes same-sex parents on equal terms as heterosexual couples.
Activists in Mexico’s Yucatan state have filed a suit against the Governor, as he’s refused to publish a law banning conversion therapy that was passed by the state legislature two years ago, blocking it from taking effect. The lawsuit has also caught the attention of a state legislator, who has called on the Governor to publish the law. Sixteen states have thus far passed laws banning the practice (including Yucatan), and a federal ban is pending a final vote expected in Congress this fall.