The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. May 20, 2019 Taiwan Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage in Historic First for Asian Continent ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Taiwan became the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage Friday. Tens of thousands came out in the capital Taipei to support the bill, and broke out in celebration as lawmakers approved the historic legislation. The bill passed two years after Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled that the legal definition of marriage as being "between a man and a woman" was unconstitutional-and despite a referendum last year that opposed the move. The new law will go into effect on Friday. LGBTQ activists say there remain other discriminatory laws on the books, including adoption restrictions for non-heterosexual couples. .