Thailand’s Cabinet Approves Marriage Equality Bill
By Adam Judd
22 November, 2023
Thailand’s Cabinet has greenlighted the Marriage Equality Bill to pave the way for the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Approved on November 21st, the draft bill, if mandated, will position Thailand as the third country in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex unions after Taiwan and Nepal.
The bill is championed by the Move Forward Party, and it successfully cleared the first parliamentary reading hurdle last year. However, its progress was temporarily halted when the previous parliament was dissolved ahead of the May 2023 general election.
The Marriage Equality Bill is expected to be formally submitted during the upcoming Parliament session, slated to commence on December 12th, 2023.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, has pledged his government’s commitment to advancing the bill alongside two other crucial pieces of legislation: a bill granting transgender individuals the right to alter their official gender markers and a bill to decriminalize prostitution.
https://tpnnational.com/2023/11/22/thai ... lity-bill/
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LGBTQ couples in Thailand to soon have equal legal rights in marriage
by THE NATION
November 21, 2023
The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a bill amending the Civil and Commercial Code, so same-sex couples can marry and have the same legal protections and privileges as straight couples.
Deputy government spokesman Karom Polpornklang said the amendment bill proposed by the Justice Ministry seeks to allow same-sex marriage with full legal rights. It will also allow members of the LGBTQ community to build families and ensure both spouses have equal rights.
Karom said the bill’s main principle is to remove the terms “men”, “women”, “wives” and “husbands” from the civil code.
The terms will be changed to “persons”, “fiancées”, “engaged couples” and “married couples”, so men can marry men and women can marry women and have the same rights as male-female unions.
The deputy spokesman said the Cabinet has also called on the Council of State to amend other laws accordingly, so the surviving spouse in a same-sex marriage is entitled to receive the inheritance left behind by their partner.
The Council of State has also been tasked with scrutinising the same-sex marriage bill, and once that is done it will be submitted to the House, Karom said.
Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said the amendment bill would be different from the Life Partnership Act that was enacted by the last government.
He said this act simply endorses the rights for same-sex couples to spend their lives together but does not provide full legal marital rights.
https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand ... l/40033083
