Thailand’s Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a bill that would legalise same-sex marriage, clearing the last legislative hurdle for the country to become the first in Southeast Asia to enact such a law.
The marriage equality bill passed its final reading with the approval of 130 of the 152 members of the Senate in attendance, with 4 voting against it and 18 abstaining.
The bill now needs the pro forma endorsement of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, followed by its publication in the Government Gazette, which will set a date within 120 days when it becomes effective.
Thailand will become the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, to allow same-sex marriage. The marriage equality bill, which grants full legal, financial and medical rights for marriage partners of any gender, sailed through the House of Representatives right before the previous parliamentary session concluded in April with the approval of 400 of the 415 members who were present.
The timing of the Senate’s vote on Tuesday, the first day of the current parliamentary session, suggests the urgency in getting the bill passed. The legislation will amend the country’s Civil and Commercial Code to replace gender-specific words such as “men and women” with gender-neutral words such as “individual”.
But it was not approved without a hitch. One member of the Senate, retired army Gen. Worapong Sa-nganet, argued that the gender-specific terms should still be included in the law along with the gender-neutral terms. He said excluding them would be a severe “subversion of the institution of family” in Thailand.
After the vote, Plaifah Kyoka Shodladd, an 18-year-old who identifies as non-binary, took the floor and thanked everyone who supported the legislation, calling it a “force of hope” that will help Thailand become more accepting of diversity.
“Today, love trumps prejudice,” Plaifah said.
The government, confident of the bill’s passage, announced several days ago it would host a celebration of the occasion later Tuesday at Government House.
