Scenes of celebration took place on the streets of Bangkok yesterday after the royal endorsement of the country’s marriage equality law, paving the way for the full legalization same-sex marriage early next year.
King Vajiralongkorn’s endorsement of the law on Tuesday night officially makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex marriages, and the third in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal.
The Marriage Equality Bill, the fruit of two decades of efforts by activists inside and outside of government, was approved by the House of Representatives in March and the Senate in June. The law will take effect 120 days after its publication on Tuesday in the Royal Gazette, enabling same-sex couples to begin legally registering their marriages on January 22, 2025.
The legal recognition of same-sex marriage was a campaign promise of the Pheu Thai Party ahead of last year’s general election. In a post on X, former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who presided over the law’s passage through parliament, described its endorsement as “another important step for Thai society… Gender diversity will finally be fully accepted. Congratulations.” His successor Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who replaced him after he was removed from office last month for an ethics violation, also posted on X, “congratulations on everyone’s love,” along with the hashtag #LoveWins.
The bill will amend 68 provisions of the country’s Civil and Commercial Code to change the composition of a marriage, from “a man and a woman” to “two individuals.” It will also change their official legal status from “husband and wife” to “married couple.” The changes will grant LGBTQ couples the same rights as those in heterosexual marriages. According to the Bangkok Post, these rights “include the ability to adopt children, manage and inherit their spouse’s assets the right to divorce, access to state welfare if their spouse is a civil servant, and tax deductions.”
Hundreds of people took to the streets in the capital Bangkok to celebrate the royal endorsement, including members of the city’s large LGBTQ community.
For many activists who have pushed for this legal change, the bill is a long time coming. While Thailand enjoys a reputation as one of Asia’s most liberal countries, with widespread support for marriage equality, the political establishment has been stubborn in inscribing equal rights in law. State agencies are reflexively conservative, and advocates for gender equality have had a hard time pushing lawmakers and civil servants to make changes to the law. Even during the law’s passage through the House and Senate, some conservative holdouts opposed the decision.
“We are all delighted and excited,” Siritata Ninlapruek, an LGBTQ activist, told the AFP news agency. “We’ve been fighting for our rights for over 10 years, and now it’s finally happening.”
Waaddao Anne Chumaporn, the founder of Bangkok Pride, told the Bangkok Post that the law was “a monumental step towards equal rights in Thailand.” She added that she plans to organize a mass wedding for more than a thousand LGBTQ couples in Bangkok on January 22.