Thai senators adopted on Tuesday April 2 by a large majority, at first reading, the principles of the text legalizing same-sex marriage, pioneering legislation in Southeast Asia which could come into force in the coming months.
The bill is now sent to committee for further study, before a new vote in the Upper House.
“Please, can I trust you with my future?” LGBT+ activist Chanya Rattanathada told parliamentarians during the debates which lasted almost two hours. “The whole world is watching us,” she repeated again before the vote.
The Upper House ratified by a large majority its agreement on the broad outlines of the text authorizing the union between two people of the same sex.
This is now going to committee for a more detailed study, before a second and then a third vote – probably not before July – which will confirm its adoption by the senators.
After the green light obtained from deputies last week, marriage for all takes a new intermediate step. The last word in the legislative procedure belongs to King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who signs its promulgation in the official journal.
Thailand could become by the end of the year the first country in the region to authorize unions between two people of the same sex, and the third on the continent, after Taiwan and Nepal.
The Buddhist kingdom of Southeast Asia is renowned for its values of tolerance, but laws considered conservative continue to fuel discrimination against homosexual couples or transgender people.
“It’s as if we have received our greatest gift, in twelve years of commitment to legalization from me. This has meaning, not only for LGBT+ couples, but for the family as an institution,” reacted activist Ann Waaddao Chumaporn.
The arrival to power last summer of Srettha Thavisin, the first civilian to occupy the post of Prime Minister since the 2014 coup d'état, contributed to accelerating the legalization of marriage for all, which arouses the support of main political parties and a majority of the population.
"Faith"
“We are beyond our expectations. With the new government, things have gone so quickly,” rejoiced Naiyana Supapung, an LGBT+ activist present in parliament, to AFP.
“Now I have faith in my country, that it can finally change,” she assured.
The proposal adopted by MPs aims to change references to "men", "women", "husbands" and "wives" in the Marriage Act to replace them with gender-neutral terms.
It must also give homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in matters of adoption or inheritance.
The current Senate, considered aligned with the interests of the military-royalist establishment, is made up of 250 members appointed by the generals resulting from the 2014 coup d'état, under a transitional provision of the Constitution which came into force in 2017.
The legislative calendar is made uncertain by the renewal of the Upper House which will take its form provided for in the Constitution in the coming weeks or months. The new Senate will be made up of 200 members from social and professional groups, elected by a restricted college of voters.
This is the first time that the legalization of same-sex marriage has gone this far in the Thai legislative system, after the failure of previous attempts due to the chronic instability of local political life, between coups d'état and popular protests.
But if Thailand is preparing to authorize unions between people of the same sex, the law does not grant recognition to transgender or non-binary people who want to change their gender on their identity papers.
With AFP
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