Lawmakers from Thailand’s Move Forward Party celebrate the passing of a marriage equality bill Wednesday granting same-sex partnerships the same legal status as heterosexual unions in the lower house of Parliament in Bangkok. Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
March 27 (UPI) — Thai lawmakers advanced legislation on Wednesday that would legalize same-sex marriage in the Southeast Asian nation.
Representatives in the lower house of parliament voted 400-10 to adopt the bill revising the definition of marriage from a union between a man and a woman to a partnership between two individuals and extending tax breaks, inheritance rights and medical consent to people in same-sex relationships.
The law, which also permits same-sex couples who marry to adopt children, needs to pass the upper house of parliament and gain the seal of approval of King Vajiralongkorn, but is likely to come into force by November.
The change would make the mostly Buddhist kingdom only the third Asian country to make same-sex marriage legal after Taiwan and Nepal, burnishing its reputation as one of the most liberal nations when it comes to LGBTQ rights in a region where gay sex is a criminal offense in some countries.
“This law wants to return these rights to this group of people, not grant them the rights,” House Marriage Equality chairman Danuphorn Punnakanta told parliament.
“This is the beginning of equality. It’s not a universal cure to every problem but it’s the first step towards equality,”
The new law builds on existing legislation outlawing gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination.
Previous attempts to legalize same-sex marriage have ended in failure, and Thailand’s Constitutional Court in 2020 ruled that the existing law defining marriage as between a man and a woman was constitutional.
However, 96.6% of people polled in a government survey last year supported the bill and major political parties included same-sex marriage rights in their campaign pushes with Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin pledging to bring a bill for marriage equality to parliament.
In February, Greece became the first Christian Orthodox country to legalize same-sex marriage, including parental and adoption rights, joining 15 other European Union countries in adopting equal marriage rights for gay partnerships.
The move came eight years after the country extended legal rights afforded to live-in heterosexual couples to same-sex cohabiting couples in December 2015.