When same-sex marriage becomes legal

When Thailand’s long-awaited equal marriage law comes into effect on Thursday, police officer Pisit “Kew” Sirihirunchai hopes to be one of the first to marry longtime partner Chanatip “Jane” Sirihirunchai .

He was – they were in one of Bangkok’s grandest malls, at an event organized by city officials to celebrate the legal milestone.

Hundreds of couples across Thailand received their marriage certificates on Thursday, fell into smiles or burst into tears at the moment they had always dreamed of.

While district officials set up the party with a photo booth and free cupcakes – a beauty pageant of colors and costumes – the Bangkok region is offering air tickets to the first couple to register their marriage there.

“The rainbow flag is flying over Thailand,” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra wrote on Facebook while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Activists said they wanted a clause covering the definition of marriage to be included in Thailand’s Civil Code by the end of Thursday.

“We’ve been ready for this for a long time,” Picsit said. “We’ve been waiting for the law to catch up and support us.”

The two have been together for seven years. Eager to formalize their relationship, they had previously visited a Buddhist monk who gave them an auspicious new surname they could share – Sirihirunchai. They also asked local officials to issue a letter of intent, which they both signed, pledging to get married.

But they say their partnership, under Thai law, is what they’ve been waiting for: “It’s perfect for us. A law that protects our rights.”

So far, official documents list Pisit and Chanatip as brothers. This way, they can become a family in the eyes of the law. Marriage certificate means LGBTQ+ couples now have the same rights as other couples to engage, marry, manage their assets, inherit and adopt children.

They can also make decisions about medical treatment if their partner becomes ill and incapacitated, or if financial benefits (such as Pisit’s government pension) are extended to their spouse.

“We want to build a future together – build a house, build a small business together, maybe a cafe,” he added. “We want to build our future together and look after each other.”

law, which Passed by both houses of parliament in June last year before existence Recognized by the King of Thailand September is an important step for LGBTQ+ rights.

Thailand is still a Outliers in Asia In recognition of marriage equality – only Nepal and Taiwan have legalized same-sex unions.

This is one of the reasons why Japanese Aki Uryu moved to Bangkok to be with her partner. She says life is difficult for the LGBTQ+ community back home: “In Thailand, I can hold hands with my partner and walk together. No one says anything. It’s just different. It feels right.”

“It’s like I’m starting a new life,” Aki said after the two women tied the knot on Thursday.

Mr Zhang, a gay Chinese man who did not want his name revealed, watched them celebrate with many other couples in a Bangkok mall.

“We are excited and we are jealous,” he said. “Thailand is so close to China, but from another perspective, Thailand is so far away.”

Yet even in Thailand, where activists are renowned for their tolerance of LGBTQ+ people, he said it took a sustained campaign to win legal recognition.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for 18 years – the day when everyone can publicly recognize us,” Rungtiwa Thangkanopast, 59, who will marry her partner of 18 years in May, told the BBC earlier this week.

She once had a marriage arranged by her family and later died. She had a daughter, went through IVF, but started spending time after her husband died, and later helped run, one of Bangkok’s first lesbian bars. Then she met Phanlavee, 45, who only goes by her first name.

On Valentine’s Day 2013, the two women went to the Bang Rak district office in central Bangkok to ask to be officially married – a popular place for marriage registration because the Thai name means “Love Town”.

This is when LGBTQ+ couples began challenging the official perspective on marriage by trying to obtain marriage licenses at regional offices.

That day, there were about 400 heterosexual couples waiting. Rungtiwa and Phanlavee were rejected, and Thai media mocked their efforts, using derogatory terms for lesbians.

Still, activists managed to convince the government to consider changing marriage laws. A proposed Civil Partnership Bill has been tabled in Parliament, providing some official recognition to same-sex couples but not the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

The movement was disrupted by a military coup in 2014 and the elected government. It will be another decade before parliament approves full marriage equality, fueled in part by the rise of young, progressive parties championing the cause.

Their message resonated with Thailand – and attitudes changed. By this time, same-sex marriage was legalized in many Western countries and same-sex love was normalized in Thai culture.

This is a shift in favor of the law, which was passed last year by a majority of 400 votes, just shy of 10. Even in the notoriously conservative Senate, only four opposed the law.

Couples like Rungtiwa and Phanleeva now have the chance to love each other without the risk of public ridicule.

Rungtiwa said: “With this law, the legitimacy of our family is the legitimacy of our family.

The new law covers marriage from 70 gender-specific terms such as man, woman, husband and wife in the Thai Civil Code and replaces them with neutral terms such as individual and spouse.

However, there are still dozens of laws in Thailand’s legal code that are not yet considered gender neutral, and there are still barriers for same-sex couples using surrogacy.

Under Thai law, parents are still defined as mother and father. The law also does not allow people to use their preferred gender on official documents; they are still stuck with their birth gender. In these areas, activists say they still need to keep pushing for change.

This is especially important for older couples who have to deal with changing attitudes.

Chakkrit “Ink” Vadhanavira said: “I really hope people can pull back from the age-old stereotype that gay people can’t have true love.”

He and his partner Prinn, who is in their 40s, have been together for 24 years.

“The two of us have proven that we truly love each other through thick and thin for over 20 years,” Chakrit said. “We have been ready to take care of each other from day one. We are no different than a heterosexual couple. ”

Although Chakkrit’s parents quickly accepted their partnership, it took Prinn’s parents seven years to do so.

The couple also wanted to share the manufacturing business they ran together and other assets as a couple, so they asked Purin’s parents to officially adopt Chakkrit, with the same surname. Pullin said the new law brought welcome legal clarity to them.

“For example, now, when a sexual couple buys something together – a big item – they can’t share ownership of it,” Pullin said. “When one of us dies, everything we both earned together can’t be passed on. To each other. That’s why marriage equality is so important.”

Today, Pring said, both sets of parents treat them like any other married child.

Their parents helped them when they had relationship problems like any other couple.

“My dad even started reading gay magazines to get to know me better. It was very cute to see that.”

Additional reporting by Lulu Luo, Paweena Ninbut and Ryn Jirenuwat