On November 17, 2008, the Nepali Supreme Court ruled in favor of laws to guarantee full rights to LGBT people and define gender minorities as "natural persons" under the law, including the right to marry. "This is a landmark decision for sexual minorities and we welcome it," said Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal's first publicly gay lawmaker and a leading gay rights activist in South Asia.Nepal's Supreme Court OKs same-sex marriage The court asked the government to form a committee to study same-sex partnership laws in other countries and mandated that the new law not discriminate against sexual minorities, including transgender people.Nepal Supreme Court orders full LGBT rights Nepal SC approves same-sex marriage
