LGBT couple Sun Wenlin and his partner appear before the case heard in Changsha, central China's Hunan province on April 13, 2016. [Photo: vcg.com]

After a trial of three hours on April 13th, 2016, a Chinese court has turned down a request by a gay couple to legally marry.

This is the first recorded case in China's legal history where a same-sex couple is seeking the right to marry through legal means.

One of the men, surnamed Sun, and his partner went to the marriage registration office in Changsha City in central China's Hunan Province in June last year. They were rejected by the office staff, who said the laws did not allow gay marriages.

The couple's attempt to argue with the staff failed, so they hired an attorney to help them file a lawsuit against the Civil Affairs Bureau of Changsha's Furong District in December, 2015.

A trial was scheduled for January, 2016. However, two days before the scheduled date, the couple was informed the hearing was postponed to April 13th.

Sun noted that he is quite disappointed with the result but felt very pleased to see that so many people showed up today in court to give their support. Sun added he will continue to his legal fight to marry.

LGBT people are estimated to account for over 4% of China's population, according to Li Yinhe, a leading sexologist in China.

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