Thailand has taken a step closer to legalising same sex marriage after the lower house of Parliament passed a bill giving legal recognition to the marriage equality bill.
The bill was passed in its final reading with the approval of 400 out of 415 members in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting.
Thailand would become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill is expected to sail through easily in the upper house of Parliament, the Senate and signed by the king before it becomes a law by the end of the year.
The new bill will amend the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights.
“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBTQ+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost,” he said.
Lawmakers, however, did not approve inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the rights of some LGBTQ+ couples to form a family and raise children.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law.
The new government led by Pheu Thai, which took office last year, has made marriage equality one of its main goals.
With inputs from AP
