Taiwan: Gay marriage supporters and opponents to stage protests

More than a million signatures reportedly gathered in support of Civil Code amendment

While opponents of a draft amendment that would legalize same-sex marriage and adoptions by gay couples hope to draw hundreds to a rally in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei Nov 30, supporters of the measure plan to gather at the Legislative Yuan building on the same day, Focus Taiwan News Channel reports.

According to the report, the measure, spearheaded by the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, was sent to the legislature’s committee for judiciary and organic laws and statutes for review in October.

If approved, the amendment to the Civil Code would change terms like “father and mother” and “man and woman” to neutral terms, the Taipei Times reports.

Various religious groups have condemned the proposal, contending that the changes would be an affront to parents and calling for traditional family values to be upheld.

According to Focus Taiwan, the proposal garnered more than a million signatures in support.

The Taiwan Alliance is also behind two other measures, one that would lead to a civil partnership system and another that would legally recognize two or more unrelated people as being a family, Focus Taiwan notes.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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