Lawmakers in Thailand overwhelmingly approve a bill to legalize same-sex marriage

BANGKOK — Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples. Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights. She noted, however, that lawmakers did not approve the inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the parental rights of LGBTQ+ couples.