Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, pictured here, offered “congratulations on everyone’s love” as Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralonghorn signed same-sex marriage into law late Tuesday that will take effect Jan. 22. File Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
Sept. 25 (UPI) — Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralonghorn signed a same-sex marriage bill into law late Tuesday, becoming the first nation in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex marriages.
The new law, which will take effect on Jan. 22, grants same-sex couples adoption and heritage rights and users gender-neutral language to replace “men,” “women,” “wives” and “husbands.”
Thailand’s Senate gave final legislative approval for same-sex marriage legalization in June on a 130-4 vote and sent it to the king for signing, which was required for it to become law.
Thailand will be the third Asian government to legalize same-sex marriage when it takes effect in January.
Taiwan was the first in 2019 followed by Nepal in April, ten months after Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to begin registering the marriages of same-sex couples.
Thai public support for the law was 96.6% in a 2023 government survey.
“Congratulations on everyone’s love. Thank you for the support from all sectors. This is a fight for everyone,” Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on X,
Thai LGBTQ advocate and law lecturer Nada Chaiyajit told NBC News, “We show that diversity means diversity, and the government hears the voice of the people that we are ready to build inclusive societies where everyone will be able to form families, regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation, et cetera.”
Bangkok Pride Movement co-founder Ana Chumaporn called the new same-sex marriage law a “triumph of equality and human dignity.”
She said Thailand is writing a new page history and she told the BBC she’s planning a mass wedding of more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples Jan. 22.