Why Same-sex Marriages Should Be Legal in Vietnam

For years, in the media (television, radio, magazines, internet …) we often see the stories of the couples in love who wanted to marry. So, what is behind the increased interesting in wedding and matrimony? This is the question always been the media and people discussed, interested. Many people believe that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, and this makes them happy, supported and accepted. However, others think that everyone should have the right to marry, that includes gay men and lesbians, who are romantically and sexually attracted to members of the same- sex. A marriage between two men or two women is called a same-sex marriage. So, whether or not people accept homosexuals and marriages with traditional cultural values, it is a change of prejudice, stigma, not a change in the standard of living or the rule of nature, contrary to the rule of nature.They always want to have a normal life like everyone else, they want to have a family of their own, they hope to be legally recognized so that they can have their own interests and help them feel good protect. Meanwhile, they will have better living conditions and bring all their strength to the society. If it does not bad influence on people around, and society, so I think the government shouldn’t forbid same-sex marriages.

The first is about rights of human or rights of same-sex marriages, as you known in modern society like this, due to the pressure of life, the most desired goal of the marriage is to be a "home", a place where people are safe and secure. The most satisfying emotional needs. "Right to the pursuit of happiness" is one of the most important human rights that President Ho Chi Minh put forth in the First Declaration of Independence. Every person, regardless of sexual orientation, has the right to seek happiness. Therefore, everyone has the right to a happy life, satisfy the psychological needs of themselves and those of the same-sex marriages who fully enjoy these rights. Or, in the United States, there are policies and community groups that protect the interests of these people, for example, the ECHO (1963) was establish by groups of local lesbians and gay groups met in Philadelphia. The ECHO (East Coast Homophile Organizations) with the theme of that conference was Homosexuality- Time for Reappraised. In addition, this group was more created twice groups in Washington (1964) and New York (1965). Meanwhile, the five ECHO organizations were set up and so it’s combined with NACHO (North American Conference of Homophile Organization) was created a legal defense fund to use in court cases involving gay men, lesbians and same- sex marriages. Or, according to Dan Tri News (2017) say that nowadays in the world has more 25 countries recognition about the same-sex marriages. It’s show us that more and more people has accepted and supported, they have seriously rights of this people.

As we have seen, the right to marry is well establish, but isn’t include the right to marry one’s same-sex partner, that is an inequality. In the western countries, if the government of their country has allowed same-sex couples to marry for a long time, in Viet Nam, the government had also made changes in their thinking and initial recognition about this now. According to Marriage and Family Law (2014) in Viet Nam “the government has revoked the ban on marriages with same-sex couples in the new clause 2, article 8, which does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples”. Thus, same- sex couples in Vietnam will still be married but they will not be protected by law in cases of dispute, and this is one of the new points to this law.

The second one, it is the attitude of everyone when this happens. David E. Newton (2010) say that attitudes toward same-sex marriages in Western culture are forbidden and that those who engage in them must be put to death, but it is depend on the basis of laws. Everyone still has respected and supported with it by the way when a same-sex marriage was organization, everyone will applause and congratulations. This shows they have a good attitude with this issue. On the other hands, Jeanne Nagle (2010) say that many religions in another world refuse to accept the idea of same-sex marriages because they think it’s wrong, it’s go back on the ethical standards and the laws of nature. They believe that society only recognizes the benefits of weddings when it is a wedding between a man and a woman, they believe that this is the right one, and they will show disdain, not support and even they will strongly condemn the occurrence of a same- sex marriage took place. Based on the opinions of the two authors above, I think when something has just started, it's really hard to accept them. So when this happens, it may be difficult at first, but when we understand and sympathize, which will create a diverse community to live and work.

We need to know that same-sex couples before they come to the decision they have encountered many difficulties, barriers from family, friends,..., the discrimination of the law, and non-recognition of the law to make a decision. And when it comes to the support of family and friends, and our laws are no longer prohibited, why can not we change our minds, our perceptions, show them that they are also part of our lives. To change this, should we have another attitude to look at this? Yes, people now have a positive attitude and a more objective view of the marriage of same-sex couples. As we all know, in Vietnam, when we accept same-sex marriage, it is impossible for us to give birth to a family. This has made them who same- sex couples also often stand in the way of thinking about having a baby, even if it is a deep desire, because of the social environment, the prejudice of homosexual couples who give birth and take care of their children. Mr. Bui Minh Hong, Department of Civil-Economic Law, Ministry of Justice said: "Under the current law, adoption is acceptable to an individual. If two people are the adoptive parents of the child, then the couple must be husband and wife. In the current context, when gay rights are not recognized in the law, we understand that when they live together, the need for adoption will not be recognized by law". However, it is because of this that they are more committed to faithfulness, mutual support and the desire to live a long happy life. They maintain a common life by sharing the economic burden, responsibility with their families and adjusting themselves to achieve harmony. This has made people look better and their attitude has changed a lot in this regard.

The last one is the benefits in same-sex marriages. German Lopez (2015) say that marriage provides many benefits to same-sex couples by the government recognition of marriage come with nine benefits which mention potentially lower taxes and the ability to make important medical decisions for a spouse. Nine benefits were maintains a more by legal advice organization Nolo. These benefits have made the debate between protesters and supporters of same-sex marriage increasingly tense and force the government to adopt new and more appropriate policies.This shows that people here do not really recognize the benefits of their government. Contrary to this opinion, according to Danish author Morten Frisch published in the magazine International Journal of Epidemiology say that the longevity of same-sex couples have higher rates compared to traditional marriages in recent years.Through this we can see that same-sex marriage has brought about many health and spiritual benefits, such as helping to make homosexual relationships more closely linked, the conflict takes place less and in particular this makes them understand their responsibilities. In addition, a good example of this is the fact that many countries recognize the benefits of same-sex marriages, such as: Norway, Denmark, etc. In these countries, it has been recognized that marriages between homosexuals, they are more loyal, more engaged, and reduce the risk of having sexually transmitted diseases.

Through these two comments, we see that agreeing or disagreeing on these benefits is still a great concern. Just as Vietnam has changed the rules on same-sex marriage, it seems that our government has had to look at it in every decision. Our government does this because they also want to give their homosexuals whose have opportunity their own rights and benefits.

Same-sex marriage is a very sensitive issue recently in Vietnam. Although it is a marriage that goes against the law of nature, a marriage is not recognized by law. However, it was no longer prohibited, no longer organized in silence, quietly, in fear of being discovered, but now it was allowed to publicly. If someone says a marriage that is not recognized by the law will not be sustainable, then I think this idea is not true. A marriage really does not depend too much on the recognition of an individual, a collective, or the recognition of the law. In my opinion, whether a marriage is sustainable or not depends on their own.

In Vietnam today, same-sex marriages are talking place daily and around us. It is possible for objections that this marriage is illegal but for homosexuals it is the real emotion, the real life that they desire. Although homosexual marriage does not fit the standards of society, it is not a bad thing. Maybe this marriage will affect a certain part of maintaining the race. However, this is not yet alarming. It can be said that today's technology is growing as fast as the "storm", the childbirth of same-sex couples is no longer a problem. Homosexuals can get pregnant if they want to be interrupted of reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization or pregnancy prophylaxis.…

In the future I do not know how the world will change, but may be the government will have more positive thoughts and may be they will aceept this same- sex marriages.In my personal opinion, I hope everyone should accept, understand and understand gay people, do not discriminate against them, and the government should recognize and accept them. The government should not ban same-sex marriage.

References

1. Nguyen, T. T. H., & Doan, L. D. (2022). The prospects for the legalization of same sex marriages in vietnam. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 22(4), 347-370. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13582291221111290)
2. Oosterhoff, P., Hoang, T. A., & Quach, T. T. (2014). Negotiating public and legal spaces: The emergence of an LGBT movement in Vietnam (No. IDS Evidence Report; 74). IDS. (https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/3976)
3. Horton, P., & Rydstrom, H. (2019). Reshaping boundaries: Family politics and GLBTQ resistance in urban Vietnam. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 15(3), 290-305. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1550428X.2018.1518739)
4. Nguyen, T. Q., Poteat, T., Bandeen-Roche, K., German, D., Nguyen, Y. H., Vu, L. K. C., ... & Knowlton, A. R. (2016). The Internalized Homophobia Scale for Vietnamese sexual minority women: Conceptualization, factor structure, reliability, and associations with hypothesized correlates. Archives of sexual behavior, 45, 1329-1346. (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-016-0694-6)
5. Horton, P., & Rydstrom, H. (2022). LGBTQ in Vietnam: Heteronormativity and Resistance. In Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Vietnam (pp. 461-471). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315762302-34/lgbtq-vietnam-paul-horton-helle-rydstrom)