Thailand’s parliament passed a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday, paving the way for the kingdom to become the first Southeast Asian country to recognise LGBTQ marriage equality.
The bill passed its final reading, receiving approval from 400 of the 415 House members present, with 10 voting against, two abstaining and three not voting.
The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code by replacing the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” with “natural persons” and “marriage partners.” This change would open access to full legal, financial, and health rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
This bill will now go to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that has passed the lower house, and then to the king for royal approval. This will make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to pass such a law, and the third in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal.
Danuphorn Punnakanta, a representative of the ruling Pheu Thai party and chairman of the committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, told parliament that the amendment applies to “all Thai people” regardless of their gender and would not deny heterosexual couples any rights. He said:
“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBTQ+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost.”
However, lawmakers did not approve the inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists say would limit the rights of some LGBTQ+ couples to start a family and raise children.
While Thailand has a reputation for tolerance, much of the Buddhist-majority country remains conservative and the LGBTQ community, while highly visible, still faces barriers and discrimination.
Activists have been pushing for same-sex marriage rights for more than a decade, but in a kingdom where politics is regularly punctuated by coups and mass street protests, advocacy has not progressed far.
In 2022, Thai lawmakers approved two bills authorising same-sex marriage and two more allowing civil partnerships. But the bills were cancelled when parliament was dissolved to pave the way for last year’s general election.
