The law authorizing same-sex marriage in Thailand reached a final parliamentary stage on Tuesday June 18, since the Senate adopted, unsurprisingly and by an overwhelming majority, this pioneering legislation in South-East Asia. The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 130 of the 152 members of the Senate present, for 4 votes against and 18 abstentions.
“Today, love won over prejudice”, reacted activist Plaifah Kyoka Shodladd, who took part in the work to develop the law. Before the vote, Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, MP for the pro-democracy party Move Forward, welcomed “a victory for the people”which gives back the ” smile “in a period of political turbulence.
The senators, appointed by the army, met this morning in the capital Bangkok to examine in second and third readings the legalization of civil unions between people of the same sex. Activists and observers expected a positive vote, as there is broad consensus around this text, despite the deep divisions between the pro-democracy camp and the military-royalist establishment.
The values of tolerance of the Buddhist kingdom
Celebrations are planned later in the day at the government palace and in central Bangkok, where giant shopping malls have been waving the rainbow pride flag since the beginning of June in a sign of support. .
The LGBTQIA+ community benefits from large showcases in the Buddhist kingdom, known for its values of tolerance which attract gay tourists from conservative neighboring countries. The deputies voted for marriage for all last March, by a large majority.
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The text will be presented to the king, Maha X, for publication in the royal gazette, synonymous with promulgation. Thailand thus becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and the third on the continent, after Taiwan and Nepal.
The first homosexual unions can be celebrated one hundred and twenty days after the promulgation of the law, that is to say in the fall. “We do this for everyone. If society grants rights to everyone, then it is a society in which we can live”said Adisorn Juntrasook, who, as an expert, took part in the work on the development of the law, before the vote.
Gender neutral terms: “individuals” and “marriage partners”
The new legislation aims to change references to “men”, “women”, “husbands” and “wives”, replacing them with gender-neutral terms, namely “individuals” and “marriage partners”. . It must also give homosexual couples the same rights as heterosexual couples in matters of adoption or inheritance.
However, activists deplore the lack of recognition for transgender or non-binary people, who will still not have the right to change their gender on their identity documents.
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The arrival to power last summer of Srettha Thavisin, the first civilian to occupy the post of prime minister since the 2014 coup, helped to speed up the legislative process, usually tortuous in Thailand.
The chronic instability of Thai political life, between coups and major popular protests, has defeated previous attempts at legalization in recent years.
Today, the text arouses the support of the coalition in power, considered favorable to the interests of the army, and of the progressive opposition, embodied by the Move Forward party, in a rare moment of union in a period of tensions.
Srettha Thavisin and Move Forward are the subject of proceedings before the Constitutional Court, which have plunged the country into uncertainty.
Since the Netherlands, the first to celebrate homosexual unions in 2001, more than thirty countries have legalized marriage for all in the world.
