同性婚姻合法化歷程：美國經驗，臺灣借鑒

Abstract

同性戀是自古至今一直存在的「敏感」人群與議題，同時，根據權威研究數據，其比例約占總人口的3％﹣5％，如此龐大的人口基數下，該群體人口數量不容小覷。經過漫長的認知與爭論，自2001年起，歐美國家掀起同性婚姻合法化的浪潮，隨著 2014 年 12 月 19 日，臺灣婚姻平權民法修正案一讀通過，2015年美國成為同性婚姻合法的國家之一，同性婚姻合法化再次成為焦點。 本文採用文獻探討法、個案研究法、歷史研究法，以美國與臺灣的同性婚姻合法化發展歷程為研究對象，探討其發展的背景與過程、其阻力與爭議、發展的推動力、是否存在決定性因素。 通過研究，美國的歷程大致可分為三個階段，第一階段為17世紀初至19世紀中期，即1607至1850年代第二次工業革命，此為明令禁止的迫害時代；第二階段為19世纪中期至20世纪中期，即1850至1960年代，此為同性戀運動的醞釀時代，在此期間工業革命興起，城市化進程加劇，同性戀組織萌芽並發展、活動，美國社會對同性戀者態度開始發生轉變；第三階段為20世纪60年代至20世纪末，即1960年代至1996年，此為同性戀運動之抗爭與接納时代，同性戀者爭取個人層面平等權利，開始擺脫污名融入社會主流；第四階段為20世纪末至今，此為争取婚姻權階段，各州陸續出臺同性婚姻相關法案，直至2015年，同性婚姻在美國全國合法。 縱觀整個過程，其阻力主要在於宗教教義、傳統家庭結構與滑坡理論。發展過程中推動因素為社會運動浪潮、兩黨政治選舉、文化產業發展、訴訟案件、同性戀維權組織及其領袖之推動。 臺灣發展進程分為兩個階段，第一階段為1980至1990年代，因著特殊的時代背景，同志運動起步。該時期多個組織建立，在社會對立的複雜環境中摸索抗爭與發聲，力求人權與平等。第二階段為公元2000年至今，是同志運動多面開花，蓬勃發展的時期。臺灣成為亞洲同志運動先鋒地區，訴求同性婚姻合法化。 臺灣阻礙因素除了與美國相似的宗教教義、家庭結構、滑坡理論爭議，還存在中國傳統婚姻觀、對同性戀群體刻板印象的阻礙。臺灣同性婚姻合法化進程中的推動力量包括歐美國家同性婚姻合法化潮流、臺灣政治選舉、文化產業發展、同性戀維權組織及其領袖的作用。 研究發現：一、美國同性婚姻合法化進程中，民意是決定性的因素。二、臺灣同志團體發展相較於美國存在不足之處，推動方式較為薄弱與單一，有待完善。因此，針對提高民意支持率，研究建議：一、臺灣同志維權團體需形成同盟、共享資源、有計劃地發展；二、爭取號召社會知名人士、權威性學者的支持並其發聲。三、建設自己優質且有廣泛影響的發聲平臺，需善用社群網站與新聞媒體，建設專門網站、專門雜誌報刊。四、善用選舉政治與政黨輪替的契機。五、臺灣的發展之路可考慮「同志個人層面權益保障﹣『民事結合』的伴侶關係﹣同性婚姻合法」的路徑。

Whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry has been and remains the topic of debate worldwide. According to the authoritative study data, the ratio of homosexuality is about 3% -5% of the population, under such a large population base, this small percentage still represent a great huge population. After a long period of cognition and argument, the tide of same-sex marriage swept across Europe and the United States. December 19, 2014, the Taiwan civil law amendment of marriage equality has passed and in the United States of America, same-sex marriage has been legal nationwide since June 26, 2015, which make this issue once again become the focus of society. The methods of literature review, case study, and historical research are adopted in this study. Through research the legalization process of same-sex marriage in U.S., find out the historical background, main events, Oppositions, the promoting factors and impediments in the whole process, then compare to Taiwan’s process, trying to provide feasible experience and lessons for Taiwan. After doing research, I divided the legalization process of United States into four stages. The first stage is from the beginning of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century (1607 to the Second Industrial Revolution in the 1850s). During this stage, same-sex sexual behavior was widely considered to be socially unacceptable and guilty at that time, which is an extremely oppressed stage for gay men. The second stage was from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century (1850 to 1960s), this is a gestation period of Gay Rights movements. With the background of the industrial revolution and urbanization, gay communities has formed, some public homosexual organizations have been set up and developed. The third stage is called resistance and acceptance stage, which is from 1960s to the end of the 20th century. Since the Stonewall riots of 1969, Gay Liberation movement began. A number of homosexual rights groups came into being across the United States and began to seek ways to challenge dominant constructions and change laws. During this stage, the American society tends to accept and identify with LGBT group. The fourth stage is from the end of the 20th century untill now, aim to do gain same-sex marriage rights. In this stage, different states debated on same-sex marriage legislation. On June 26, 2015, the United States became the 17th country to legalize same-sex marriages entirely. I divided the legalization process of Taiwan into two stages. The first stage is from1980s to 1990s.More and more gay rights groups have set up and developed, and the commonly stated goal is social equality for gay people. The second stage is from 2000 untill now. LGBT movements got started, such development puts Taiwan in the vanguard of a movement seeking same-sex marriage rights. Opponents of same-sex marriage in the United States ground their arguments on parenting concerns, religious concerns, concerns that changes to the definition of marriage would lead to the inclusion of polygamy or incest, natural law-based reasoning, and tradition. As for Taiwan, besides these opponents, people have negative stereotype about gay, and Chinese traditional marriage values plays an important part against same-sex marriage. The promoting factors of same-sex marriage legalization in the United States are wide range of LGBT rights groups and their leaders, political activism, law suits and cultural activity, including lobbying, street marches, social groups, media, art, and research, which provides Taiwan a lot experiences to learn. The main finding in American same-sex process study is that public opinion is the decisive factor effect on policy and law. This study suggests LGBT rights groups in Taiwan: 1) Get union together and form alliance, share resources and formulate phase plans. 2) Win support from social celebrities and authoritative scholars, appeal to the government as well as the society for protection and legislation of same-sex couples benefits. 3) Improve own influence. Created high-quality, specialized website and use social media platform well, put more popular science common sense of gay people on magazines, newspapers. 4) Seize the opportunity of election. 5) The first step of gay rights movement should take greater equality as a goal, and then aim to civil union, the last step is full rights same-sex marriage.