A Rainbow in the Sky

source: pixabay (CC0 public domain)

by Penny Lai & Alvin Dahn

 
     A drizzling Wednesday afternoon ushered in good news. It was May the 24 when both the skies and the people were moved to tears by the Supreme Court's decision in favor of same-sex marriage. The belated justice now finally rights the wrong it failed to address.

     The key figure who applied for constitutional interpretation by the Justices at Supreme Court to determine if forbidding same-sex marriage violates the rights as stipulates and secures by Constitution of Republic of China was Qi Jia-Wei. He was the first person who made public his sexual orientation at a press conference back in 1983, an era when society was far from friendly towards homosexuals. He fought for legalization of same-sex marriage for over three decades. Finally, on 24th of May 2017, the Supreme Court rules that the regulation of being legally wedded, the couple must be one male and one female in the Civil Code of Republic of China contradicts with the Constitutional Law in the freedom of marriage and equality. It means that the Ministry of Justice needs to revise the Civil Code concerning same-sex marriage, if it fails to do so within two years, same-sex couples will be entitled to register their marriage at the Household Registration Bureau Office. After years of fighting and hundreds of parades, this is no doubt the most exciting step for those heroes who never gave in to the pressure and discrimination from society.

     Yet, an advanced and diverse society like ours accommodates more than one voice for everything. While most of us are celebrating the new epoch of human rights some are arguing otherwise. Still some, ridiculously, are doubting the credibility of the Justices. However diverse a society can be, it still makes people wonder on what grounds can one justify his act of depriving others equal rights and entitlements. People who voice their anger and hatred toward the legalization of same-sex marriage resort to numerous reasons: religion, personal hygiene, public health, birth rate, etc. What they did not say is that all reasons are gift-wrapped science-coated bias, resentment, and sense of superiority, all based on the illusion that they above all stand and speak for the ultimate truth and the divine law.

     One of the most splendid things on earth is diversity. People must not accept only what they like and want to see. If we are meant to be the same and cannot tolerate divergence, perhaps we are no better than lab duplicates. It is understandable that some people cannot and will not accept in-depth ideas, but spread irrational judgment and underground hate messages will never get anyone anywhere. It is all right to disagree with someone on something, but it is not acceptable to attack others maliciously. People say Taiwan has proved itself an advanced country by being the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. It is no doubt one of the most beautiful and civilized acts a country can achieve.