In the first-ever court case in China addressing the issue of same-sex marriage, a Beijing judge on Wednesday denied permission to a gay couple who had filed a petition seeking the right to marry.
In June 2015, the gay couple, Sun Wenlin and Hu Mingliang (both pseudo names), had filed a court case against the civic authorities Changsha, Hunan Province, located in southern China, after the office rejected their application to grant them the right to marry, BBC reported.
On Wednesday, hundreds of supporters gathered outside the court premised to cheer for 27-year-old Sun and 37-year-old Hu when they came to attend the hearing. The authorities permitted about 100 of these supporters inside the court room. However, unfortunately for Sun and Hu, the court discharged the case within a few hours since hearing started.
Soon after, the dismissal of their petition Sun said that he and Hu were planning to appeal against the verdict. As per the Chinese law, they are required to submit an appeal to a higher court in the next 15 days.
Interestingly enough, though China does not support gay or lesbian marriage, the district court had not only accepted Sun's petition, but also agreed to hear the lawsuit. Initially, the hearing was scheduled for January, but it was postponed of reasons unknown. Immediately after the court held a hearing on Wednesday morning and the judge issued a ruling, the news started circulating on social media.
Meanwhile, in an interview to Global Times, Sun alleged that the local police visited him with the aim of persuading him to withdraw the case. As the case became a high-profile issue and was supported online by many LGBT activists, the police also visited his home several times. According to Sun, the police officer continued to emphasize that it was imperative to have a child from a marriage, as the offspring would carry on the parent's family name. Sun further stated that he was, however, unable to abide by people thrusting their values on him.
During a previous interview with the same media outlet, Sun had said that the Chinese Marriage Law's original text does not specify one man and one woman. Instead, it talks about a husband and a wife. "I personally believe that this term refers not only to heterosexual couples but also to same-sex couples," he said.
Meanwhile, Shi Funon, the lawyer of the gay couple, said he had anticipated that the judgment will be against his clients, but not so quickly. According to Funon, this is against the spirit of the laws of the People's Republic of China.
Watch the video on "Rural Chinese gays come out, advocate gay marriage" below: