Thailand legalizes same-sex marriage in historic move.

When Thailand’s long-awaited equal marriage law takes effect on Thursday, police officer Pisit “Kew” Sirihirunchai hopes to be the first in line to marry his longtime partner, Chanatip “Jen” Sirihirunchai.

About 180 same-sex couples are registering their unions in Bangkok’s biggest shopping malls, with city officials helping to celebrate this legal milestone.

“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” says Picit. “We have been waiting for the law to come and support us.

The two men have been together for seven years. Eager to formalize their relationship, they went to a Buddhist monk to give them a new surname that they shared – Sirihirunchai. They also asked the local authorities to issue a letter of intent promising to marry.

But they say getting their union recognized by Thai law is what they really wanted. This means that LGBTQ+ couples now have the same rights as other couples to marry, manage their property, inherit and raise children.

If their spouse is ill and incapacitated, they can make decisions about treatment or extend benefits – such as the PCT state pension – to their spouse.

“We want to build the future together – build a house, start a small business together, maybe a cafe,” he said, listing all that the law allowed. “We want to build our future together and care for each other.”

Prisit says he has the full support of his colleagues at the police station, and hopes he can encourage others working in the public service to be open about their sexuality: “We need to feel brave because we don’t get any results, only positive responses.”

As a younger couple, Presit and Channatip — both in their mid-30s — face fewer hurdles than those who came out earlier.

But it is a long journey for their community. Despite Thailand’s popular tolerance for LGBTQ+ people, activists say it has taken an ongoing campaign to gain legal recognition.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for 18 years – the day when everyone can clearly recognize us, when we don’t need to run away or hide anymore,” said Rungitiwa Tangkanopast, 59, who will marry her partner of 18 years. In May.

She was in an arranged marriage by her family, to a gay man, who later died. She had a daughter through IVF, but after the death of her husband, she started spending time and later helped run one of the first lesbian bars in Bangkok. Then she met Fanlavy, now 45 and going by her first name.

On Valentine’s Day 2013, the two women went to the Bang Rak district office in central Bangkok to officially marry – a popular place for marriage registrations because the name means “city of love” in Thai.

This was a time when LGBTQ+ couples began challenging the official view of marriage as a heterosexual partnership by trying to obtain marriage certificates at district offices.

About 400 heterosexual couples were waiting with them that day. Rungitiwa and Phanlawi were rejected, and the Thai media ridiculed their efforts by using a derogatory term for lesbians.

Still, activists managed to convince the government to consider changing marriage laws. The proposed Civil Partnerships Bill, introduced in Parliament, would give same-sex couples some official recognition, but not the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples.

A military coup in 2014 that overthrew the elected government put an end to the movement. It may be another decade before full marriage equality is passed by Parliament, in part because of the emergence of young, progressive political parties.

Their message resonated with Thailand – and attitudes changed. At this time, same-sex marriage became legal in many Western countries, and same-sex love became common in Thai culture.

This is how the law was passed last year with a majority of 400 votes and only 10 against. Even in the conservative Senate, only four voted against the bill.

And couples like Rungtiwa and Phanleeva now have a chance to make their love known without being publicly ridiculed.

“With this law comes the legitimacy of our family,” says Rungtiwa.

The new law removes gendered terms such as man, woman, husband and wife from 70 of Thailand’s Civil Codes covering marriage and replaces them with neutral terms such as individual and spouse.

However, there are still dozens of laws in Thailand’s legal system that are still gender-neutral, and there are still obstacles in the way of same-sex couples using the same-sex marriage method to start a family.

Parents are still defined as mother and father in Thai law. The law still does not allow people to use their chosen gender on official documents; They are still stuck with their birth gender. These are areas where activists still need to continue to push for change.

However, this is a historic moment for Thailand, which is the most advanced in the recognition of marriage equality in Asia. A change of attitude is especially beneficial for elderly couples who have had to leave.

“I hope people get rid of the old, stereotypical ideas that gay men can’t have true love,” Chakrit “Color” Vadhanavira said.

He and his partner Prin, both in their 40s, have been together for 24 years.

“We’ve both been through thick and thin for over 20 years,” Chakrit said. From the first day we were together, we were prepared to care for each other. We are no different than opposite-sex couples.”

While Chakrit’s parents accepted their partnership quickly, Prin’s parents took seven years to do so.

The couple also wanted to share the produce business they ran together and other assets as husband and wife, so Prin’s parents asked Chakrit to officially adopt them as Chakrit, giving him the same family name. Prin said the new law brought welcome legal clarity.

“For example, right now when a same-sex couple buys something — a large item — they can’t share ownership,” Prine said. “And one will pass. What we have done together cannot be passed on to the other. That is why marriage equality is so important.”

Today, Prin says, both sets of parents treat them just like any other couple’s children.

And like any other couple, their parents helped them when they had relationship problems.

“My father started reading gay magazines to understand me better. It was so beautiful to see.”

Additional reporting by Thanyarat Dokson and Ryn Jirenuwat in Bangkok