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: JURIST - The Paper Chase

Nepal Supreme Court approves same-sex marriage

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

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[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Nepal has directed the country's government to end sexual orientation-based discrimination and to extend equal rights to gender minorities, including same-sex marriage. The order, made Monday, came in a lawsuit brought by several gay rights groups and follows a December 2007 ruling recognizing homosexuals as citizens under the classification "third sex." The latest decision requires that all gender minorities must be defined as "natural persons" under the law and directs the Nepalese government to form a committee to draft a same-sex partnership and marriage act based on legislation in other countries. Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal's first openly gay Member of Parliament and an outspoken proponent of gay rights, called the ruling a "landmark decision." The Hindustan Times has more. Same-sex marriage is recognized in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and Norway. In October, the Portuguese parliament voted overwhelmingly against proposals to legalize same-sex marriage. In the US, same-sex marriages are now permitted in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Earlier this month, same-sex marriage bans passed in California, Arizona, and Florida, leading to nationwide demonstrations and a call from California's Attorney General for the California Supreme Court to examine challenges to the ban's legality.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 19, 2008 (boomark / email).