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Lawmakers in Thailand voted on Tuesday to approve a marriage equality bill, a move that puts the country on a clear path to becoming the first in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s Senate passed the bill by 130 votes to 4, with some abstentions, on Tuesday afternoon. It was approved by the House of Representatives<\/a> in March. The legislation would become law after it is reviewed by a Senate committee and the Constitutional Court and receives royal assent from the king<\/a>, a formality that is widely expected to be granted.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 20 years of trying to legalize this matter,\u201d activist Plaifa Kyoka Shodladd, 18, said in the Senate chamber after the vote, \u201cfinally, love wins.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill\u2019s passage underscores Thailand\u2019s status as a relative haven for gay couples in Asia. Only Taiwan<\/a> and Nepal<\/a> have legalized same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While India came close to doing so last year, the Supreme Court deferred the decision<\/a> to Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken strongly against legalizing gay marriage.<\/p>\n In some Asian countries, gay sex is a criminal offense. Indonesia, where gay marriage is illegal, made extramarital sex illegal<\/a> in 2022. In 2019, Brunei made gay sex punishable with death by stoning<\/a>. It later said it would not carry out executions<\/a> after widespread international protest.<\/p>\n Thailand\u2019s bill calls marriage a partnership between two people age 18 and above, without specifying their gender. It also gives L.G.B.T.Q. couples equal rights to adopt children, claim tax allowances, inherit property and give consent for medical treatment when their partners are incapacitated.<\/p>\n The bill has been contentious since its first version was introduced over 20 years ago. While Thailand is one of the most open places in the world for gay couples, it is socially conservative in other ways. In February, lawmakers dismissed a proposal<\/a> to let people change genders on official documents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But a majority of the Thai public supports the marriage equality bill. Last year, 60 percent of adults in Thailand said they supported legalizing same-sex marriage in a survey by the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n