The legislative draft for diverse families refers to the draft law of the Republic of China (Taiwan) regarding amending the civil bill (law) involving marriage and family systems to promote gender equality. It originated from Taiwanese society's emphasis on issues related to gender equality in the 1990s. Later, during the Presidency of Ma Ying-jeou, social groups concerned about gender equality promoted the amendment of the law, which is a part of "Gender mainstreaming." With the implementation of some laws and policies that are relatively less controversial, issues under review are often summarized and commonly referred to as "diversity families". The content includes three bills such as the Marriage Equality Bill, the Partnership System Draft, and the Dependent System Draft. Currently, among them The legalization of same-sex marriage and the right to adopt children have attracted the most public attention and comments.The three drafts are independent of each other and were submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review at the same time. Among them, the marriage equality (including same-sex marriage) draft first obtained enough co-signatories from the legislators and passed the Reading (legislature) on October 25, 2013, and was handed over to the judiciary. and the Legislative Affairs Commission's review, the draft partnership system and the draft family system are still in the stage of private initiative.
In late October 2016, legislator Yu Mei-nu led the proposal of the marriage equality bill for the second time. It was co-signed by the New Power Party, as well as some legislators from the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party, and was able to exceed the proposal threshold of 15 people. Each version of the bill passed the Reading (legislature) at the Legislative Yuan on November 8 and 11 of the same year and was sent to the committee.
Related conceptual issues and world trends
Gender equality and gender mainstreaming Same-sex marriage legalized In the Yeh Yung-chih incident that occurred in 2000, a male student died because he was not sent to the hospital early. It was later believed that the student was bullied by his classmates because of his gender expression and did not dare to go to the toilet during get out of class time. This led to the implementation of the Gender Equity Education Act (Taiwan), which was subsequently and further renamed the Gender Equality Education Act. Adjustment of the ratio of male to female toilets, popularization of lactation rooms, protection of male parental leave, Unisex public toilet Different sexual orientations and basic human rights
The legal basis of the draft
United Nations International Bill of Human Rights. Among them, the "International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights" and "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights" are both legally binding. Constitution of the Republic of China Article 7 (Right to Equality) - All people of the Republic of China, regardless of gender, religion, race, class, or party affiliation, are equal in law. The current Civil Law of the Republic of China Article 972 - The marriage contract shall be concluded by the male and female parties themselves.
History
During the Ma Ying-jeou administration On August 11, 2012, the Taiwan Friendship Rights Promotion Alliance (referred to as the "Friends Alliance") completed the draft amendment to the Civil Code.
On September 8, 2012, the Friendship Alliance launched the "Diversity Family, I Support" signature campaign. At that time, the Friendship Alliance expected that in September 2013, millions of people would sign, Taiwan's first diversity policy independently drafted by the private sector. The draft amendment to the Family Civil Code was sent to the Legislative Yuan.
On November 19, 2013, the Legislative Yuan held a public hearing on the legalization of same-sex and transgender marriages. During the meeting, the pros and cons put forward their respective arguments. Among them, lawyer Ren Xiuyan, a representative of the Taiwan Religious Group Alliance to Protect the Family (referred to as the "Protecting the Family") said: "Only a biologically related child can love him, but an adopted child cannot love him." This triggered strong criticism from supporters.
On November 24, 2013, the Hualien Happy Families Alliance opposed the "diversity family" draft promoted by the Taiwan Couple Rights Promotion Alliance and held a demonstration in the sixth phase of redistricting to express their position. They believed that revising the monogamous marriage and family adoption systems would Impact traditional family ethics and morals and affect the happiness of the next generation. I hope to defend traditional family ethics through actions and oppose the amendment of the law.
On November 30, 2013, anti-diversity families and other groups, led by the "Next Generation Happiness Alliance", called on nearly 300,000 people to hold a "Praise for Next Generation Happiness" event on Ketagalan Boulevard to "defend marriage" and " Slogans such as "MADE BY Daddy+Mommy" and "Anti-Amending Civil Code 972" express opposition to diverse families. Groups such as the "Partners Alliance" that support diverse families used "marriage equality" as the slogan and typesetting in the Qunxian Building of the Legislative Yuan to express their support for the demands of plural families and gay marriage for "free love, equal family formation". At the same time, in order to express their support for the demands, groups such as the Tong-Kwang Light House Presbyterian Church and Hong Kong Keen House broke into the event venue on Ketagalan Avenue that had been applied for by the "Next Generation Happiness Alliance". The event staff did not comply with the "Assemblies and Parades" Act to persuade people to leave and restrict the physical presence of groups expressing support for their demands in a circle. Freedom; After the news leaked out in the media and social networks, there were two extreme reactions. Opponents of the law amendment believed that it was unwise to trespass into gathering places with different stances, while supporters believed that the Tong-Kwang Light House Presbyterian Church had applied to the local branch to hold placards and restricted support. The person's personal freedom was suspected of being excessively enforced.
On December 2, 2013, student unions and student groups in many colleges and universities jointly launched a national student coalition to support same-sex marriage by forming the Student Alliance (Students United Front for Same-Sex Marriage) and expressed their support for amending the Civil Code. Article 972 and issued a joint statement.
On December 3, 2013, at an anti-diversity event held on Ketagalan Avenue on November 30, a marcher wore a Nazi military uniform and said, "I am against homosexuality, and the Nazi Party are also anti-gay. That's why I wear this on the streets”, which attracted the attention of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and raised serious concerns with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan). At the same time, the Israeli representative office issued a statement on Facebook.
On December 22, 2013, singer A-Mei held a free concert in support of marriage equality on the Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Creative Park at her own expense and declined sponsorship. The concert was named "Love is the Only" and only required " Enter with love." Zhang Huimei expressed her position on the stage: "First, respect love, second, respect everyone's love, and third, support true love." It was estimated that 20,000 people came to the scene.
On December 18, 2014, singer Jolin Tsai released the MV for "So So What". The content was adapted from a true story. It described a same-sex couple who was unable to sign a consent form for surgery because they did not have the protection of legal status, expressing her support for same-sex marriage.
On December 22, 2014, the Judiciary and Legal Affairs Committee of the Legislative Yuan, under the leadership of rotating chairman Yu Mei-nu, scheduled for the first time to review the marriage equality draft. This is the first time in the history of an East Asian country that a marriage equality bill has been considered in Congress. However, the Ministry of Justice is opposed to the same-sex marriage bill. Chen Ming-tang, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, raised objections, while Wu Xiuzhen, deputy director of the Gender Equality Division of the Executive Yuan, expressed approval and believed that the Ministry of Justice (Taiwan) should study the revision of the Civil law (common law) and the formulation of special laws. Relevant supporting equipment; other legislative statements Members,Tuan Yi-kang, Yu Mei-nv, Cheng Li-chun, and Lin Shu-fen spoke in agreement, while Liao Zhengjing and Lu Xuezhang opposed; Li Gui-min and Lin Hung-chih did not clearly express their approval or objection; the final meeting did not reach a specific conclusion. Chairman You Meili announced the end of the meeting, and the future The agenda will be rearranged as appropriate.
On May 20, 2015, the Kaohsiung City Government accepted the registration of “same-sex couples” in the household registration system. Since then, Taipei City has opened applications on June 17, 2015, and Taichung City Government has opened applications on October 1, 2015. Tainan City, Taoyuan City, New Taipei City, Chiayi City, Changhua County, Hsinchu County, and Yilan County also followed suit in 2016. This measure does not have legal effect, but a certification document will be issued, which can be used for medical and legal identification of related parties or proof of relationship. In October 2015, Taipei City set a national precedent for joint weddings, allowing same-sex couples to participate for the first time.
In August 2015, the "Partner Alliance Lawyers Group" was appointed by Qi Jiawei to formally submit the case of same-sex couples to register their marriage to the Supreme Court for constitutional interpretation. In addition, the Taipei High Administrative Court and the Taipei City Government will also submit their case to the Justice Call for an interpretation of the constitution on same-sex marriage.
On December 10, 2015, the Alliance for Marriage and more than 30 civil society organizations that care about marriage equality jointly launched the "Marriage Equality Legislators Connection", inviting legislative candidates to become sponsors or sponsors of the marriage equality draft after entering the Legislative Yuan. Co-signer. The New Power Party, the Green Party Social Democratic Alliance, the Free Taiwan Party, and the Trees Party all-party candidates support it. The Democratic Progressive Party, the Kuomintang, The Democratic Progressive Party, the People First Party (Taiwan), and the Taiwan Solidarity Union each support several candidates. The Faith and Hope League, which launched a referendum petition in an attempt to block marriage equality, was unwilling to reply after receiving the letter of commitment.
During the Tsai Ing-wen administration August 1, 2016, Love is the greatest·In fact, we are all the same! The marriage equality charity concert brought together singers such as A-Lin, Zhang Huimei, Dee Hsu, Hebe Tien, Rainie Yang, Jolin Tsai, Elva Hsiao, Jam Hsiao, Show Lo, Soda Green, Sandy Lam, Mayday (Taiwanese band), HUSH and other singers to sing for marriage equality, hoping to awaken the outside world to pay attention to marriage. Affirmative action.
In late October 2016, the marriage equality bill proposed for the second time, led by legislator You Meimei, was co-signed by the Power of the Times caucus, as well as some KMT and DPP legislators, and exceeded the proposal threshold of 15 people. Each version of the bill passed the first reading in the House of Representatives on November 8 and November 11 respectively and was sent to the committee.