23/10/2023
As a company, The Collaborators (UK) Ltd would like to make a statement about the ruling that took place in India this week around same s*x marriage - bascially. India’s Supreme Court has declined to legalise same-s*x marriages.
Our statement - "The video we have spotlighted reported by BBC Devang Shah summarises a diversity of thought around this subject. We rally around the hope and aspiration that this verdict (disheartening as it is for many of us), will spur us to continue to educate and raise awareness on how we can bring SAME RIGHTS to same s*x couples as for heteros*xuals. We hold accountable the Committee being formed to explore this further and the leadership of Hon’ble Dr Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, The Chief Justice of India to protect the fundamental rights of same s*x couples."
For those who are not aware the BBC news summarise as below : -
- India’s Supreme Court has declined to legalise same-s*x marriages but said the rights of LGBTQ+ people must be upheld
- Five judges ruled they could not legalise such unions, which they said was parliament's job
- Their verdict will dash the hopes of tens of millions of LGBTQ+ people in India
- The court had heard petitions in April and May, seeking to change the law to allow same-s*x people to be legally married in India
- Petitioners for same-s*x unions said not being able to marry violated their constitutional rights
- The government and religious leaders strongly opposed same-s*x marriage, saying it was against India's culture
- In 2018, the Supreme Court had decriminalised gay s*x in a landmark ruling
The Supreme Court says it lacks the power to make such a ruling but directs the government to give more rights to LGBTQ+ couples.