This Thursday, Thailand took a step further in legalizing same-sex marriage’ in the country when four draft bills concerning this subject were submitted to Parliament. The news came in after Thailand’s cabinet approved parliamentary discussions concerning the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the country this Tuesday.
This decision marks a significant achievement for Thailand towards achieving marriage equality in the country. The bills need to go through multiple readings and stages of approval before the points mentioned in them can become law. However, if the bill is legalised, enacted, and receives royal assent, it would make Thailand the third country in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, that recognises same-sex marriages.
Background on the history of the legalisation of same-sex marriages in Thailand:
Since the early 2000s, the general attitude towards the LGBTQ community in Thailand has been steadily improving. In 2015, the Gender Equality Act was passed in the country, aiming to provide legal protections against gender-based discrimination, including unfair treatment of LGBTQ people. However, people in Thailand believe that laws and institutions do not reflect changing social attitudes and still discriminate against the queer community.
Since 2012, several bills for same-sex marriage have been introduced and approved by the Thai cabinet, but they have failed to pass the first reading. In June 2020, Move Forward Party deputy Tunyawat Kamolwongwat tried to introduce a bill to legalise same-sex marriage in the country, but it was not passed.
Again in 2022, a group of bills concerning same-sex marriages were presented in Parliament. This included the ‘Marriage Equality Bill’ proposed by the opposition Move Forward Party, which included points on an amendment to the current marriage law to include couples of any gender. Along with this, there was also the Civil Partnership Bill, which wanted to introduce civil partnerships as a separate category and grant some but not all rights to all married couples. These bills passed their first readings in the parliament, but despite several amendments, they were not passed before the end of the parliamentary session.
The general public was enraged when, in 2021, the Constitutional Court, referring to Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, interpreted marriages as something that can take place only between women and men. The verdict identified LGBTQ as a different “species” that needs to be studied separately. This decision was widely criticised by the LGBT community and was called homophobic and politically incorrect.
The current state of legalisation of same-sex marriages in Thailand:
In the recent elections in Thailand, ‘legalisation of same-sex marriages’ was the focus of several political parties. This Thursday, four bills were presented in Parliament regarding the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the country. One draft bill was presented by the present government, another by civil society groups, and two by the opposition Move Forward and Democrat parties. All four bills were passed overwhelmingly, with the Parliament approving the formation of a committee in 2024 to analyse and combine all the drafts into one bill.
LGBTQ rights advocates in Thailand have said that this is the best chance Thailand has to get this law passed. It has been pointed out that the last two administrations failed to pass this law because the Parliament back then had been dissolved to make way for national elections. Thailand’s currently elected government has plenty of time to push the bill through without a sudden coup. Along with this, major parties are also in favour of this legislation.
The Prime Minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, has expressed optimism about the potential impact of this legislation. He has stated that this law will allow people of all genders to marry and have the same rights and responsibilities as hetrosexual couples.
Deputy government spokesman Karom Pornpolklang said that the proposed amendments in these bills include replacing gender-specific terms such as “men,” “women,” “husbands,” and “wives” in the current marriage law with a gender-neutral language.
It has been reported that the bill, if approved and made into law, would allow same-sex couples to adopt children and also open up other benefits reserved for those who are married. These benefits would include tax deductions and the right for spouses to give each other medical consent, co-manage property, and pass on wealth.
