Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member Supriya Sule on Friday introduced a private member Bill in Lok Sabha to legalise same-sex marriage in the country, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP DNV Senthilkumar S introduced another private member Bill that talked about the rights of the LGBTQIA community, enabling them to live with dignity.
The Bill introduced by Ms. Sule seeks to amend the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Stating the reasons for introducing the Bill, Ms. Sule said that although homosexuality was decriminalised in the country in 2018 when Supreme Court struck down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), LGBTQIA individuals are still unable to marry and have families. Members of the community are also unable to exercise rights like succession, maintenance, pensions and so on, that are usually accorded to heterosexual couples.
LGBTQIA individuals still face persecution, discrimination and social stigma within society, the draft legislation noted.
