Thailand votes towards becoming first South-East Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage

Thailand will become the first South-East Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage after politicians voted overwhelmingly to pass a marriage equality bill.

While the bill still requires approval from the Senate and royal endorsement to become law, 400 out of 415 representatives in the lower Parliament voted in favour of the bill.

The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.”

It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBT+ couples.

The bill is expected to pass into law by the end of 2024, cementing Thailand as a haven for same-sex couples and the third country in Asia to recognise LGBT+ rights.

Thailand already has laws that bans discrimination over sexual orientation and gender identity, but it has taken years for protesters to come this close to marriage equality.

Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights.

“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBT+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost,” he said.

Politicians, however, did not approve inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the rights of some LGBT+ couples to form a family and raise children.

The new government led by Pheu Thai, which took office last year, has made marriage equality one of its main goals.

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