TAIWAN: Christian Protesters Storm Parliament’s Gates As Lawmakers Hear Same-Sex Marriage Bill [VIDEO]

The Hong Kong Free Press reports:

Several thousand people on Thursday gathered outside the legislature in Taipei as legislators met inside the chambers to debate the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Taiwan. Amid changing attitudes, the country is poised to become the first in Asia to do so.

Brought by the busload from all over the nation, the white-clad protesters — the majority of them from Christian churches — assembled on a main road outside the barricaded parliament, chanting slogans and seeking to pressure legislators to delay, or cancel altogether, the passage of amendments to the civil code that would permit homosexual unions.

Outside the main gate of the legislature and away from the protest site, a small group of LGBT activists were holding a press conference. Facing them, a middle aged woman, arm outstretched in prayer, stood bawling and ululating — to “heal” the people across the divide or “save” her country from alleged destruction, no one could tell. Such displays of religiousness have been a regular feature at rallies against legalisation in recent years.

This largely Christian flavor to the protest is unsurprising, despite the fact that Christians account for little more than 7 percent of the overall population of 23 million in Taiwan. In recent years, conservative evangelical churches, such as the Bread of Life Christian Church, have taken the lead on the issue and created their own organizations to prevent passage of related legislation.

Besides using similar rhetoric as in other countries that have gone through the process of legalization, the Protect the Family Alliance and the Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance, two of the main groups opposing same-sex marriage, have adopted an ideology that finds its roots in ultra-conservative churches in the United States, such as the International House of Prayer (IHOP).