Thailand Becomes First Southeast Asian Nation to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Thailand's king has officially signed a marriage equality bill into law, making the country the first in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex unions. The bill, which passed the Senate in June 2024, required royal endorsement to be enacted and will take effect on January 22, 2025.

The new legislation uses gender-neutral terms instead of "husbands," "wives," "men" and "women," and grants same-sex couples adoption and inheritance rights. This follows years of activism and campaigning for marriage equality.

Ann Chumaporn, a longtime LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Bangkok Pride movement, expressed her excitement, stating, “Today we’re not only getting to write our names in marriage certificates, but we are also writing a page in history... that tells us that love never set a condition of who we were born to be." She also announced plans to organize a mass wedding for more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ couples on the day the law becomes effective.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the couples, saying, "Congratulations on everyone's love. #LoveWins." Another activist, Siritata Ninlapruek, told AFP news agency, "We are all delighted and excited. We've been fighting for our rights for over 10 years, and now it's finally happening."