Same-sex Marriage In Vietnam
Same-sex marriage is not legal in Vietnam, nor is any other form of same-sex union recognized. Previous laws against all forms of cohabitation were repealed under a new marriage law approved by the parliament in 2000.
In May 2012, a gay couple in Ha Tien held a traditional, public wedding at their home but were stopped by local authorities. The event was reported widely on Vietnamese media and started a heated debate on the issue.
One month later the Vietnamese Justice minister, Ha Hung Cuong, announced that the government was considering legalising same-sex marriage, stating that "in order to protect individual freedoms, same-sex marriage should be allowed." The subject will be debated at the National Assembly congress in spring 2013. However, in February 2013, the Ministry of Justice requested that the National Assembly avoid action until 2014. If approved, Vietnam would become the first Asian and the first communist country to legalize same-sex marriage.
However, public opinion is mostly against same-sex marriage, as the Vietnamese public is generally socially conservative and traditionalist. A survey carried out on December 2012 showed that 37% of Vietnam's population support the legalization of same-sex marriage, while 58% are against it.
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—Myra MacPherson, U.S. author. Long Time Passing: Vietnam and the Haunted Generation, epilogue (1984)