The lower house of Thailand’s parliament has voted to pass a law recognizing gay marriages, by an overwhelming 400-to-15 margin. By the end of 2024, the law is expected to pass the country’s senate, and be approved by Thailand’s King.
That will make Thailand the only nation in Southeast Asia to recognize gay marriages. Under the new legislation, married gay couples can also adopt children.
Thailand already has laws that ban discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Past bills to legalize same-sex marriage failed despite substantial public support. A government survey late last year showed that 96% of Thais supported allowing gay marriages. Major political parties promised to recognize gay marriages as part of their campaign platforms in the 2023 elections.
On the other hand, the Thai parliament has so far rejected legislation to let people to change their gender identity.
Gay sex is criminalized in some southeast Asian nations, unlike Thailand, where it has been legal.
Five years ago, Taiwan became the first Asian nation to legalize gay marriages. Last June, the Supreme Court of Nepal struck down Nepal’s ban on gay marriages.
By contrast, neighboring India’s Supreme Court upheld India’s ban on same-sex marriages in 2023.
In Japan, a statute bans gay marriage, but district courts have ruled that the ban is unconstitutional. Polls show public support for it among most young and middle-aged people, but opposition among many older people.
Singapore repealed an early-20th century law that banned gay sex in 2022, but it also added a provision to its constitution to keep judges from striking down the the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
