Thai MPs voted by a large majority on Wednesday in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, a first in Southeast Asia, according to images broadcast by the parliamentary channel.
The text marks an important step forward, but must still pass before the Senate, before its final promulgation by the king.
“Today, Thailand has taken another step towards equality between people
,” reacted Danuporn Punnakanta, spokesperson for the Prime Minister's party.
The kingdom could become the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize unions between two people of the same sex, and the third in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal.
Adoption and inheritance rights
The LGBT+ community is very visible in the country known for its values of tolerance, but laws considered conservative continue to fuel discrimination against homosexual couples or transgender people.
The proposal adopted by MPs aims to change references to
“men”
,
“women”
,
“husbands”
and
“wives”
in the Marriage Act to replace them with gender-neutral terms.
The new legislation must give homosexual couples adoption and inheritance rights.
“This is a huge step for our country
,” Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn, spokesperson for the human rights group Fortify Rights, told AFP.
“I hope that the last stage will go smoothly, and that Thailand will be at the same level as the rest of the world when it comes to LGBT+ rights
,” she continued.