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BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a bill on Wednesday to legalize same-sex marriage, a historic step that could make the country the first in Southeast Asia to recognize the union of people of same sex.
The bill, prepared for more than ten years, has received the support of all major Thai parties and the text must then pass before the Senate before being promulgated by the king, for entry into force 120 days later.
The bill was adopted by 400 of the 415 deputies present, with only ten votes against. It could allow Thailand to become the third Asian country, after Taiwan and Nepal, to authorize same-sex marriage, and the very first in Southeast Asia.
“We did this for all Thais to reduce disparities in society and start creating equality,” Danuphorn Punnakanta, chairman of the parliamentary committee responsible for the bill, said before the text was read.
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The bill grants same-sex couples all the rights of a married couple under the country’s civil and commercial code, including those regarding inheritance and adoption.
(Reporting Panu Wongcha-um; French version Lina Golovnya, editing by Kate Entringer)
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