Thailand is set to become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex marriage, with its marriage equality law passed in the Senate on Tuesday and now on the way to being promulgated before it is due to take effect in the next few months.
LGBTQ+ advocates applauded as the upper house voted 130-4 to pass the law in its final reading with 18 abstentions. They described the development as a victory in their long fight for equal rights.
The advocates who gathered at parliament on Tuesday to monitor the Senate's final reading of the bill and vote burst out in cheers upon hearing the result.
They later headed to Government House where the government organised a celebratory event for them later in the day. Afterwards, they went to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre where festivities continued into the night.
At Government House, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin -- who has Covid-19 and is on sick leave -- congratulated them via a Zoom call.
The new law will allow any two individuals who are 18 years old or older to register their marriage and receive the same benefits and rights as heterosexual couples. The bill uses gender-neutral terms for a married couple as "two individuals" instead of "a man and a woman," and their legal status is changed from "husband and wife" to "spouses."
LGBTQ+ people from any country can register their marriage in Thailand. Foreign same-sex marriage couples will have the right to a spousal visa when the bill takes effect.
The bill will be forwarded to the cabinet and then submitted for royal endorsement.
It will take effect within 120 days of being published in the Royal Gazette, making Thailand the third country in Asia to recognise same-sex marriages after Nepal and Taiwan.
Senator Kamnoon Sidhisamarn, in his capacity as spokesman for the Senate's special committee vetting the draft law, described it as a victory for equal rights advocates.
"There is no reason for the Upper House to disagree with the judgement made by the House of Representatives," he said. He was referring to the Lower House's passing of the legislation before it was forwarded to the Senate for review.
The push for a same-sex marriage law started 23 years ago. Passage of the law on Tuesday marked a new chapter in Thailand's history, said Tunyawaj Kamolwongwat, a Move Forward Party list-MP.