On Wednesday, a judge ruled against a gay couple in China’s first same-sex marriage case.
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A same sex couple in China has failed to secure the legal right to marry.
“It goes against the spirit of the laws of the people’s republic of China”, lawyer Shi Fulong said.
The plaintiff Sun Wenlin said he would appeal until he exhausts all legal options.
Sun Wenlin, 27, and 37-year-old Hu Mingliang, from Changsha in Hunan Province, had their case dismissed by the judge – but they still believe equality has taken a step forward.
An official in the local civil affairs bureau denied their application because the government would only recognise unions between men and women.
He chose to take legal action after the couple’s request to have their relationship officially recognised as a marriage was rejected by authorities last June – on their first anniversary together.
Mr Sun said he was “quite disappointed” with the result but was “very pleased to see that so many people showed up today in court to give their support”, and vowed to continue to fight for the right to marry.
Be proactive – Use the “Flag as Inappropriate” link at the upper right corner of each comment to let us know of abusive posts. We don’t think there will be any drastic changes any time soon, but having the court agree to accept this case does open the door for possible changes.
“But I told them, reproduction is not my plan and I have the freedom to not reproduce”, he said.
Sun, speaking to AP in the apartment he shares with Hu, said that police visited him at home to try to talk him out of pursuing the lawsuit but they left after he reiterated his conviction.
Wenlin’s lawsuit comes amid increasing awareness of LGBT issues in China, where the government and the society have generally frowned on non-traditional expressions of sexuality and gender.
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LGBT people are estimated to account for over 4% of China’s population, according to Li Yinhe, a leading sexologist in China.
