The Parliament of Thailand approved this Wednesday the equal marriage law, the most important legislative step to turn Thailand into the third country of Asia in legalizing unions between people LGBTIQ+.
The new law was approved in its third and final reading with 399 votes in favor, 10 against and two abstentions in the Lower House, dominated by the government coalition led by the party Pheu Thai.
Some of the deputies who spoke in the session on March 27 wore flags and decorations with the colors of the rainbow flag. LGTBIQ+ and they celebrated the approval with applause and hugs.
Among the fundamental changes it includes is the denomination of a marriage from “a man and a woman” to “two people” and the modification in the legal status of “husband and wife” to a “married couple” without gender, in addition to guaranteeing to the unions LGBTIQ+ the same rights that heterosexual women currently enjoy.
«I consider this success to be part of the consensus of Thai society. Work together to create a society of equality and not discriminate. Especially gender and family formation, which are basic human rights that the State must guarantee,” the prime minister noted on social networks. Srettha Thavisin. The mandatary committed to promoting the laws LGBTIQ+ during the campaign for the May 2023 elections, although these laws have an unusual consensus among all parties in the country.
“Together we walk towards a society of equality and respect for diversity,” stressed Srettha, who is trying to promote the candidacy of Bangkok to organize the capital of World Pride LGBTIQ+ in 2028.
Legal procedure
After the approval on March 27 of this legislation, which began to be debated in Parliament on December 21, it still must go through a couple of formal steps until it becomes law, such as achieving the final support of the Senate and its publication in the bulletin official state after being signed by the king of Thailand.
Once it comes into force, approximately at the end of the year, Thailand will become the third Asian country to recognize equal marriage, after Taiwan y Nepaland the first in Southeast Asia, a region where rights rollbacks LGBTIQ+ are palpable in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia o Brunei. EFE
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