"On October 17th, India’s Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriage." -- Cb omand, 8th grade
On October 17th, India’s Supreme Court declined to legalize same-sex marriage.
“The judges unanimously agreed that the court can’t grant LGBTQ+ people the right to marry because that is a legislative function,” according to PBS. The Supreme Court believed it was not within its responsibility to say anything about this conflict, so it passed it on to Parliament.
“‘This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” The Chief Justice said, reiterating that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include queer unions,” continued PBS.
During the proceedings on that Tuesday, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud continued to state that queerness should not be something that you need to hide and that queerness should not be discriminated against.
“India’s top court has declined to legally recognize same-sex unions in a landmark ruling that also emphasized the rights of the LGBTQ community to be free of prejudice and discrimination,” stated CNN.
The problem with queer marriage being illegal in India is that queer people are excluded from the rights that heterosexual people get when they are married. “India’s marriage laws bar millions of LGBTQ+ couples from accessing legal benefits attached to matrimony in relation to matters including adoption, insurance, and inheritance,” CNN continued.
Compared to four years ago, this event is not the worst it could be. Of course, that does not mean what is happening right now is wrong, or that LGBTQ+ people don't deserve to be married. Being LGBTQ+ was punishable by 10 years in prison only four years ago. In 2018, the top court in India overturned a colonial-era law that sentenced queer people to 10 years in prison if found guilty. The overturning of that law also gave queer people constitutional rights. Queer rights have been expanding due mainly to the Supreme Court's intervention.
While there is still work to be done to help bring full equality to the queer population of India, the country is slowly becoming more and more welcoming.
“The judges unanimously agreed that the court can’t grant LGBTQ+ people the right to marry because that is a legislative function,” according to PBS. The Supreme Court believed it was not within its responsibility to say anything about this conflict, so it passed it on to Parliament.
“‘This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” The Chief Justice said, reiterating that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include queer unions,” continued PBS.
During the proceedings on that Tuesday, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud continued to state that queerness should not be something that you need to hide and that queerness should not be discriminated against.
“India’s top court has declined to legally recognize same-sex unions in a landmark ruling that also emphasized the rights of the LGBTQ community to be free of prejudice and discrimination,” stated CNN.
The problem with queer marriage being illegal in India is that queer people are excluded from the rights that heterosexual people get when they are married. “India’s marriage laws bar millions of LGBTQ+ couples from accessing legal benefits attached to matrimony in relation to matters including adoption, insurance, and inheritance,” CNN continued.
Compared to four years ago, this event is not the worst it could be. Of course, that does not mean what is happening right now is wrong, or that LGBTQ+ people don't deserve to be married. Being LGBTQ+ was punishable by 10 years in prison only four years ago. In 2018, the top court in India overturned a colonial-era law that sentenced queer people to 10 years in prison if found guilty. The overturning of that law also gave queer people constitutional rights. Queer rights have been expanding due mainly to the Supreme Court's intervention.
While there is still work to be done to help bring full equality to the queer population of India, the country is slowly becoming more and more welcoming.
