Hong Kong high court rules in favor of recognition of overseas same-sex marriages

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

58% : Many of the benefits were won through legal challenges in recent years, and the city has seen a growing social acceptance toward same-sex marriage.
54% : An activist detained in Hong Kong partially won his final appeal seeking recognition for same-sex marriages registered overseas, in a landmark court ruling Tuesday that is likely to have a far-reaching impacton the city's LGBTQ+ community.
54% : Currently, Hong Kong recognizes same-sex marriage only for certain purposes such as taxation, civil service benefits and dependent visas.
50% : Surveys showed 60% of respondents supported same-sex marriage in 2023, up from 38% in 2013, according to a report issued by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of North Carolina School of Law in May.
47% : But the judges unanimously dismissed Sham's appeal on other grounds relating to same-sex marriage and recognition of overseas same-sex unions.
41% : In a previous hearing, Sham's lawyer Karon Monaghan had argued that the absence of same-sex marriage in Hong Kong sent a message that such unions were less worthy of recognition than heterosexual marriages.
36% : Sham first asked for a judicial review in 2018, arguing that Hong Kong's laws, which don't recognize foreign same-sex marriage, violated the constitutional right to equality.

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