Taiwan Cabinet Introduces Historic Bill Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Taiwan's ruling party has introduced legislation that would create Asia's first-ever law allowing same-sex marriage.

The bill unveiled Thursday by the Cabinet would grant gay and lesbian couples the same legal protections as heterosexual married couples, including the right to adopt children and inheritance.

The proposed law is expected to be approved by the legislature, which is dominated by the Democratic Progressive Party, and is set to take effect in May to meet a deadline set by Taiwan's Constitutional Court, which approved same-sex marriage on the island in a historic ruling in 2017.

A referendum that would have revised the definition of marriage in Taiwan's Civil Code was defeated in November amid strong opposition from conservative groups, who want to preserve the conventional definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman. Opponents also say same-sex marriages would cost the government extra benefit payouts if one person died and the other had no child for support.