Thailand's landmark marriage equality bill was officially written into law Tuesday (Sept. 24), allowing same-sex couples to legally wed.
The law was published in the Royal Gazette after endorsement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and will come into effect in 120 days. This means LGBTQ+ couples will be able to register their marriage in January next year, making Thailand the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, to allow same-sex marriage.
The bill, which grants full legal, financial and medical rights for marriage partners of any gender, sailed through both the House of Representatives and the Senate in April and June respectively.
"Congratulations to everyone's love," Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra wrote on X, adding the hashtag #Love Wins.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law. Thai society largely holds conservative values, and members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life.
The government and state agencies are also historically conservative, and advocates for gender equality had a hard time pushing lawmakers and civil servants to accept change.
"Today we're not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates, but we are also writing a page in history... that tells us that love never set a condition of who we were born to be," said Ann Chumaporn, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Bangkok Pride movement.
"It's a triumph of equality and human dignity," she said she plans to organize a mass wedding for more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples on 22 Jan.
(Source: AP)
Related News:
Comment