Hong Kong top court upholds gay rights, rejects ban on same-sex marriage

In a landmark ruling, Hong Kong's top court has ruled in the favor of same-sex couples to be access to housing and inheritance entitlements, rejecting the government's stance against gay marriage. This decision marks a significant moment for the LGBTQ community in the city, following a 2023 ruling by the Court of Final Appeal that denied legalization of same-sex marriage but gave the two-year period for the government to create a framework for other rights.

Their case began as a six-year legal battle when Nick Infinger and his husband co-placed a challenge about being excluded from public rental housing by the government. They claimed that such policies branding them not an "ordinary family" deny them right to necessary housing. This case merged with the case of Henry Li and his deceased husband Edgar Ng, who sought to fight against inheritance rules the government discriminated in favor of opposite-sex couples.

Such was the ruling of the court, delivered by Chief Judge Andrew Cheung, which sided with LGBTQ advocates by determining the policies, excluding those from housing, to be unjustifiably discriminatory. The case involved public rental housing, which houses around 28% of the population of Hong Kong. The court said that the government had no right to deny same-sex couples the home they needed simply because they didn't represent a family in the eyes of traditional values.

Further, the judgment highlighted discriminatory inheritance practices, where the same rights to estates' distribution were refused to same-sex couples compared to heterosexual couples. The judges concluded that these policies were unconstitutional because it would not rationalize the different treatment of the same-sex partners.

Hong Kong Marriage Equality and other LGBTQ rights organizations welcomed the verdict and urged the government to immediately act to address the deeper issue of marriage equality. According to a recent survey, Hong Kong public opinion in favor of same-sex marriage has exceeded 60%, a growing trend for wider support of LGBTQ rights in the city.

The decision is, in fact, a win for LGBTQ rights but advocates are pushing for more through legislative reforms than court victories. Advocates are urging the government to accelerate the creation of a framework that would assure far broader protections to same-sex couples rather than piecemeal court decisions.

The decision marks a continuing change in the legal life of Hong Kong toward a greater recognition of LGBTQ rights, although complete equality remains a long-term activists' goal in the region.

Also read: Trump's Tariff Threat Shakes Global Markets Over China, Mexico, and Canada