Adeel Malik
Hong Kong lawmakers on Wednesday voted down a bill that would have granted recognition to same-sex partnerships in the Chinese city, despite the rights offered being limited, in a major setback to the LGBTQ+ movement as reported by The Independent.
Alhamdulilah for this outcome as in Islam it’s clear any intimate relationship between same gender is categorically not allowed, cannot be endorsed nor promoted. Allah says in the Quran (7:80-81)
And ˹remember˺ when Lot scolded ˹the men of˺ his people, ˹saying,˺ “Do you commit a shameful deed that no man has ever done before? You lust after men instead of women! You are certainly transgressors.”
Let it be clear that while Islam forbids this act, it’s not allowed for a Muslim to lose its self-conduct towards those who do it.
The Registration of Same-Sex Partnerships Bill, unveiled in July, stemmed from one of the legal victories that pushed the government to offer more equal rights to gays and lesbians.
However, the bill met fierce opposition from lawmakers, even though it followed the top court’s 2023 ruling that the government should provide a framework for recognizing such relationships.
The staunch opposition from lawmakers was a rare sight since the government overhauled its electoral rules that effectively filled the legislature with Beijing loyalists.
It was the first government bill to be voted down since the overhaul.
Resistance in the legislature
The bill proposed to allow residents who have already formed unions overseas to register their partnerships locally and grant them rights in handling medical and after-death matters for their loved ones.
That includes the ability to access their partners’ medical information and participate in medical decisions with consent, and claim their deceased partners’ remains.
Some lawmakers suggested using individual policies or administrative measures to resolve the challenges facing same-sex couples, instead of through such legislation. Others insisted voting down would not amount to a constitutional crisis and would instead show the legislature is not a rubber stamp.
Lawmaker Holden Chow from the city’s biggest pro-establishment party said that the bill’s passage would mean opening “a Pandora’s box,” and “subverting Hong Kong’s marriage system between one man and one woman.”
Another legislator, Junius Ho, said the bill would cause the entire society to become restless for the sake of a small group of people.
Outside government headquarters near the legislature, two women laid out a banner promoting the traditional marriage system.
We ask Allah to bless those who stand against this immorality and guide those who are in support for it.
