Acting on legislation passed by the lower house in March, the Senate of Thailand overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow any two people to become engaged or married regardless of gender, the Washington Post reports. The legislation now moves to the desk of King Vajiralongkorn, whose signature is considered a formality, and the law will take effect 120 days after it is formally published, making Thailand the first Southeast Asian country to recognize same-sex marriage.
“We celebrate the successful passing of the marriage equality bill and we celebrate the beginning of equal love,” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrote on X on Tuesday. “‘Diversity’ is not ‘difference.’ May every love be beautiful and powerful.”
The bill passed the Senate by a 130-4 vote, with 18 abstaining. One aspect of the law that caused some debate was a provision that changed the words like “wife” and “husband” in Thai law to gender-neutral words like “spouse.” Same-sex marriage is already recognized in Taiwan and Nepal, while India and Israel have an unregistered domestic partnership and Cyprus allows for a recognized domestic partnership.