Ten gay couples have got married in the USA – while they were in Hong Kong, where same-sex marriages are not allowed.
The wedding was conducted by a wedding officiant in Utah, 1,200 miles away, who over the internet could declare the couples married.
Marrying couples via the internet is permitted in Utah, unlike most other states in the USA where the bride and groom must personally attend the wedding. This made the state popular among couples wanting to get married during the coronavirus pandemic. But there are still reasons to hold one's wedding online, including for gay couples.
On Tuesday, ten couples and their relatives gathered at a hotel in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong. There, the couples exchanged rings and the attendees raised their glasses in a toast after the wedding.
I hope that one day everyone will accept the fact that love is not just between a man and a woman. It is between two people who love each other, says 66-year-old Lucas Peng, one of the newlyweds.
It is just two people who love each other. That is the key. That is what is important. And being able to publicly show our love for each other today is definitely a very important step for us, he says.
In Hong Kong, it is only permitted to marry between a man and a woman. Self-governing Taiwan is the nearest place where gay couples can get married. Those who have got married there get legal rights as couples in Hong Kong, but the marriage is not formally called a marriage.
