News / Aug. 24, 2019
Thailand’s new government is gointi_jlG&KEny(YPlIn$wJge+@wbSib3v(wZeedwF9EEFJFsT)8Pg ahead with a controversial civil partnerships bill.
The bill, first proposed by the ruling military junta in December last year, would make Thailand the second country in rn=WL)6EcMg)alKWyaU1sUX4DmF82x)jZD8g$A2FC%0!vl_2L8Asia, and the first country in Southeast Asia, to recognize same-sex unions.
But, the LGBTI rLl9f-%p+SxocF+sj5i2$9g_ZXQ6TQ1v8o$pZj5xvU4XeB1ii^eights groups have spoken out against the bill since its first inception.
They say the bill offers limited rights to the LGBTI community and ens_NVOtfYpRl!AD#E!YQ&I(F6MMQxR9eXvk(04T*33%yTgXPPiO1hrines inequality.
According TNLtH6iSzODc8-1K2g1TxGkSOvUN%N9JMV2hlJxPoNu^0^UB7Sto Voice fo America, Thailand’s Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin said at a forum in Bangkok last week that the bill's fate would be "decided by public sentiment.”
The new government, elected in widely-disputed elections in March, will press ahead with passing the Life PartneN@HA8b@LxWzD3DAghT0&P3m)yWzlruR@_hHqnmsxDFz8ONUb+Srship Bill following public consultations.
VOA reports a YouGov survey of 1,000 people in. TaGSzc^v^+Wr51#c6$-$x*fp=g%Tr&m=cC4mR!j!4=RUHWE_sZ4hailand published in February found strong support for same-sex civil unions in Thailand.
It Rp13o%DV9Ci6rY7Pd5TBoD!$i#0u9dVo^+bRF3-H2%&%!qTr#2found 63% of those quizzed were in favor of the bill, while only 11% were against.
But, the LGBTItbUsOp6iIN$(9$Xv%(Bo9AQNU5b-@%OihU*)9-zQsz1TmI22!5 community and rights activists have largely rejected the bill.
Thailand’s first transgender memb(b9#CT@=wISMK6u-Y%+6r4B2DsqwVSL)$8YBMt8cNeHe3GPmoTer of parliament slammed the country’s civil union bill after she was elected earlier this year.
Tanwarin Sukkhapisit said tWn)IyUa5Tj4M@)FS(kXHs1@l-3nOHpMsL(j@1jI2MJ6-aSSgxQhe bill "misses the target”.
"[Equality] is one thing that [this law] will definitely not achieve. The civil union bill actually serves to widen the rift rather than bridge it because it contradicts the basic premise that we’re all equal” she told the Isaan Record.
The law would give same-sex couples the right to register, own and inherit property together. Theyy#qT8vpI1+9yNU!BFa1sZo@h24i12#jc8NnA(P-tMT#SS(-^Nf can also make joint medical decisions.
But, it does not give same-sex couples the right to adopt or have a child togethReM!I3Z$WSGfo=f$LFMfzdpEzT%#UE^2d0_dC1pN)G8wP@Slnger. Thailand’s Civil Code would keep marriage as between one man and one woman.
Taiwan in May became the first country in Asia to legalize sazx(i3iE)kF4D_g!92--Mh^GLyl*zJ!(_vc1XOdDZb!3pkIP-D!me-sex marriage.
The final draft of the bill was largely accepted bLRFaG_QzVD7+XocHF()-DKd_W=FCi(38V8)&sFX4y_##^g+_^oy the LGBTI community as a compromise.
It affords the majority of rights available to oppoTBpTd(uhfW9G$sF)^5R61M74HyZ4_RAeF+kAN8vx-rRg+HX7wGsite-sex couples. In a referendum in November last year, about 70% of voters said they preferred a separate law to give same-sex couples rights rather than a change in the Civil Code.
