The lower house of parliament passed the bill following a third and final reading, with 400 representatives voting in favor. Only 10 members opposed the bill. The bill still requires approval from the Senate and endorsement from the king before marriage equality can become reality in Thailand, a process that could still take months. If passed into law, Thailand would be the first nation in Southeast Asia to legally recognize same-sex marriage.
However, the reality, according to some members of the LGBTQ community, is different. They say laws prohibit discrimination, but they still regularly face prejudice and even violence in Thailand’s conservative society. Previous attempts to legalize marriage equality over the past decade have stalled. In 2020, the Constitutional Court ruled that Thailand’s current law, which stipulates marriage being between a man and a woman, was constitutional.