Consequent to the decriminalisation of Section 377 by the Supreme Court in September 2018, a section of the LGBTQIA+ community in India has...
Consequent to the decriminalisation of Section 377 by the Supreme Court in September 2018, a section of the LGBTQIA+ community in India has been demanding that the next logical step should be the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
This, they argue, will give the gay community the same privileges enjoyed by the heterosexual mainstream. It is thus in accordance with the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution.
Non-negotiable requirement
The benefits of same-sex marriage are both emotional and financial. Married gay couples have all the securities provided by the family as an institution. They can have kids through surrogacy or adoption, can acquire joint housing and car loans, joint insurance policies, and can bequeath wealth to their partners after death, without having to resort to cumbersome litigation.
Same-sex marriage is also conducive to social acceptance by the heterosexual mainstream, comprising parents, relatives, friends, neighbours, employers and society at large. This is partly because married gay couples replicate heterosexual lifestyles, dismantling the stereotype of gay men, lesbians and transgenders as those who lead promiscuous lives that foreground sex.
We are thought to be incapable of committed relationships. Gay men, especially, are prone to the charge of anonymous sex in public places, which is also wrongly believed to be responsible...
