Thailand became this Tuesday the third country in Asia and the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal marriage, which could come into force at the end of the year after passing a series of formal procedures.
According to the criteria of
The third and final reading of the draft law was approved today by the Senate with an overwhelming majority (130 votes in favor4 against and 18 abstentions), which adds to the great support it already obtained in March in the House of Representatives.
“Thailand’s new Equal Marriage law is a triumph for justice and human rights (…) The road to this point has been long and riddled with challenges, but today’s vote to guarantee equal marriage marks a moment historical event that deserves celebration,” Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, an activist with the NGO Fortify Rights, said in a statement.
To celebrate this historic vote, several events are planned this Tuesday throughout the city, including an event promoted by the Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, – one of the defenders of change – at the Government House, as well as a parade through some main avenues of Bangkok.
After being ratified by both chambers of the Legislature, the law will be sent to the Government Cabinet and subsequently will be signed by the king of Thailand.
The legislation would finally come into force 120 days after its publication in the Royal Gazette. Deadlines that, approximately, can end towards the end of October or November.
Among the fundamental changes that the law intends to introduce is the naming of marriage between “two people”, instead of between “a man and a woman”, and the modification in the legal status of “husband and wife” to a genderless “married couple.”
In addition, the new law guarantees LGTBI unions the same rights that heterosexual couples currently enjoy, such as inheritance rights, tax relief and adoption of children, among others.
Once it comes into force, Thailand will be the third Asian country where homosexual couples can marry, after Taiwan and Nepal, and the first in Southeast Asia, a region where the setbacks in LGBTI rights are palpable in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia or Brunei.
Although the country has one of the largest LGBTI communities and visible throughout Asia, activists have been criticizing for years that conservative Thai laws do not reflect the changes and attitudes of society in recent decades.
EFE
#Thailand #legalizes #equal #marriage #force #year #triumph #justice