Rainbow Hills Welfare Association, a registered NGO working for the Rights of LGBTQIA+ community in Sikkim today submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary and the Secretary, Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) respectively, with regards to the ongoing hearing pertaining to the same sex marriage rights filed before Supreme Court of India.
In the recent development the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India is currently seeking a collating statement from respective Chief Secretaries across all states to communicate their views for appropriate submissions by the Union of India before the court in this matter. The same has been advised to submitted within ten days of the issue of the letter.
The memorandum submitted by the NGO contained an appeal for soliciting support from the state officials in conferring the Same Sex Marriage Rights under the Special Marriage Act of 1957. Echoing the sentiments of the petitioners, the members of the NGO mentioned that “Family is a fundamental unit of any society. It is the foremost institution which provides social security for all individuals. Absence of equal marriage rights restricts LGBTQIA+ community from starting our own families, thereby leading to social exclusion, discriminationstigmatization and erasure of our existence”. In response to the submission of the appeal the Chief Secretary mentioned that a meeting has been called with the senior officials of the Social Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Department on April 27.
“ We shall reply soon to the letter” said the chief Secretary.
