Anson Chan in his letter does not oppose same-sex marriage per se, but would not support it due to what could come associated with it (“Hong Kong society still not fully ready for same-sex marriage”, October 7). In his opinion, it would bring about, among other things, child adoption by same-sex couples, which he deems a red line (and sweepingly concludes the same for Hong Kong society). I will focus on this deeply flawed reasoning.

When saying a child is best raised by a mother and a father, one explicitly deems single parents unfit when many are saddled with that situation by unfortunate circumstances in life, and whose children can and do turn out to be very fine people in many cases. That, in itself, debunks the conclusion that a child cannot be raised by a same-sex couple.

Moreover, we know that parents nowadays can, unfortunately, be quite busy, and there are a multitude of other people involved in the care of children and their growth – from grandparents to caretakers, teachers and even friends. The reality is that while parents, as they most definitely should, play a crucial role in raising children, they form only part of the equation. Read more via SCMP