Thailand poised to legalise same-sex marriage after parliament passes bill

Source: The Guardian

Thailand poised to legalise same-sex marriage after parliament passes bill

Lawmakers overwhelmingly vote to make country the first in south-east Asia to recognise same-sex unions

Michael Tatarski
Wed 27 Mar 2024 11.10 GMT
Last modified on Wed 27 Mar 2024 14.34 GMT

Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in south-east Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.

Four hundred of 415 lawmakers present voted for the bill on Wednesday and footage from inside parliament showed people standing and applauding afterwards.

In a post on X, Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson for the majority Pheu Thai party and president of the committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said: “The right to equality in Thailand has begun today. It is the beginning, and further legislation for people’s rights and freedom will follow.”

The bill must now be approved by the senate and endorsed by the Thai king. After this endorsement, the bill would be published in the Royal Gazette and become law after 60 days.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/27/thailand-poised-legalise-same-sex-marriage-parliament-passes-bill