Taipei: Groups blast ‘homophobic’ and ‘unjust’ family bill

A coalition of LGBT rights groups yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) to withdraw his draft bill on same-sex families, which they said could undermine the legalization of same-sex marriage.

The bill is “homophobic” and “basically offers zero protection for same-sex families,” Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy vice president Tsai Shang-wen (蔡尚文) said at a rally outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

The group, along with the Awakening Foundation, Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association and other groups, gathered a proposal Lai has titled “The enforcement act of Referendum No. 12.”

The bill, which was originally proposed by groups opposing same-sex marriage, said that two adults of the same sex can register as one family and share part of their assets through an agreement.

However, they would only inherit portions of their partner’s assets outside the legitime (legally mandated share for relatives) and a will would be needed if one spouse wishes to bequeath more than half of their assets outside the legitime to their partner. Read more Taipei Times