Bangkok Post – Marriage Equality Bill Becomes Law

Supporters hail ‘monumental’ step towards equal rights, backed by royal family’s support

This Marriage Equality Act was approved by His Majesty the King and published in the Royal Gazette, making Thailand the third country in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal to recognize same-sex marriage.

The Act will enter into force 120 days after its publication in the Journal of Laws on Tuesday. Royal Gazetteenabling same-sex couples to start legally registering their marriages from 22 January 2025.

“This bill is a monumental step towards equal rights in Thailand,” Waaddao Anne Chumaporn, founder of Bangkok Pride, said on Tuesday.

He plans to hold a mass wedding for over a thousand LGBTQ couples in Bangkok on January 22.

The Senate in June passed a final reading of the bill, the culmination of more than two decades of activist efforts. It was supported by a large majority of lawmakers in the upper house.

LGBT rights activists welcomed the decision at the time, noting that it would make Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to introduce marriage equality legislation.

Marriage law currently uses the gender-neutral terms “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives”, and also grants same-sex couples the right to adoption and inheritance.

“The Marriage Equality Act will be one of the most gender-sensitive bills as it will amend around 60-70 articles of the Civil and Commercial Code,” international human rights expert and lawyer Vitit Muntarbhorn told a recent forum.

He said that around 50 other laws, such as the Surrogacy Act, the Gender Recognition Act, employment laws and social welfare laws, need to be amended to ensure equal and inclusive legal protection for the LGBTQ+ community in Thailand.