Thailand’s looking to legalise same-sex unions, but will it embrace full marriage equality?
- An opposition bill that would legalise same-sex marriage won initial approval from Thai lawmakers this week, despite opposition from the government
- Prayuth Chan-ocha’s administration prefers civil partnerships for LGBT people. But activists say they don’t want to be treated like ‘second-class citizens’
The country’s parliament on Wednesday approved four different bills which will now be consolidated into two opposing proposals – in favour of same-sex marriages or civil partnerships – for MPs to vote on.
The government’s favoured option is civil partnerships, which Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam earlier said would also be more acceptable to religious leaders. But some fear creating a distinct legal category for same-sex unions is on par with treating LGBT people as “second-class citizens”, in the words of the opposition MP who drafted the equal marriage bill.
“To marry is a basic human right. We don’t ask for that right, we want it to be returned to us. It concerns everyone, not just LGBT people,” said Thanyawat Kamolwongwat of the Move Forward Party.
Civil partnerships
Thailand has one of Asia’s most open and visible LGBT communities, yet activists say Thai laws and institutions do not reflect changing social attitudes and still discriminate against LGBT people and same-sex couples.