Czech Supreme Court Allows Gay Partners To Adopt ~Another First~When Professional Surfer in China Comes out as Gay

 [Ruth Fraňková]

The Czech supreme court has ruled for the first time that two gay partners should be legally recognised as the fathers of a surrogate child, the daily Mladá Fronta reported on Saturday. 

The child was born a few months ago to a surrogate mother in California through artificial insemination. In its ruling, issued at the beginning of May, the Czech supreme court sustained a decision issued by a court in California, which recognised the two men as the baby girl’s parents.

Since 2006, gays and lesbians in the Czech Republic can live in an officially registered partnership. However, they are still prevented from adopting children as a couple, which means that the non-biological partner does not have the same legal rights to the child.

[This Page is reposted from Out Sports By Jim Buzinski ]

Xu Jingsen, or ASam, is a surfer from China.  

A professional surfer in China has come out publicly as gay, believed to be 

the first Chinese athlete who has come out as LGBT. 

The surfer, Xu Jingsen, or ASam in an Anglicized translation, will attend 

the August Gay Games in Paris. 

In a post on China’s popular messaging service Weibo, read by more than 360,000 people, ASam explained his decision (as translated by the Federation of Gay Games and Bing)

While homosexuality is legal in China, LGBT people still face societal and legal pressure. We can’t find another example of a Chinese athlete who has come out as LGBT. We also don’t know how extensive ASam’s athletic background is, though the World Surf database lists a Xu Jingsenwho competed professionally in 2013. 

Surfing is not a sport at the Gay Games, but a photo from the Federation of Gay Games indicated ASam will be swimming and playing basketball. Regardless, he is taking a brave step forward for LGBT athletes from China.