House of Representatives Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill

[snoop1130]

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - The draft act on same-sex marriage has been passed by the House of Representatives and will be sent to the cabinet for further consideration.

 

Members of the Parliament have voted 219 to 118, with twelve abstentions and one no vote, on Wednesday to approve the same-sex marriage bill proposed by the Move Forward Party. The proposal will also be forwarded to the cabinet for a 60-day study.

 

The Move Forward Party said the draft proposal is a revised draft of the Civil and Commercial Code presented earlier in 2020. It has been updated to align with the goals of the same-sex marriage draft campaign, which has received over 290,000 signatures on the website www.support1448.org. The goal is to amend Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, as well as the sections that follow. Campaigners want to modify the definition of marriage from "man and woman" to "two persons" to ensure equal rights for everyone.

 

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party, stated that the bill would serve as a starting point for equality and a new standard in Thai society.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-02-10

 

- Aetna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

- Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[jcmj]

Wow! They may actually be stepping into the 21st century, but elections are coming up so let’s see what happens. 

[EricTh]

One no-vote? What is a no-vote?

 

I thought there are only 3 types.

Yes 219

No 118

Abstain 12

[TooMuchTime]

Bad news.  How does this work in Thailand will Prayut be able to shut this down?

[Excel]

Well if it ever gets to law then it will help those retirees struggling to meet the 800000 baht in the bank methoed as two mates just go thro the act of getting married and then it's only 400000 each.  ????  

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party, stated that the bill would serve as a starting point for equality and a new standard in Thai society.

There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

slowly coming out of the dark ages.

[hotchilli]

48 minutes ago, EricTh said:

One no-vote? What is a no-vote?

 

I thought there are only 3 types.

Yes 219

No 118

Abstain 12

Spoilt paper?

[internationalism]

not so rosy.

Actually, the title is misleading, wrong. Same as the content of this article.

This vote delayed further reading of this bill for 3-4 months, which was send to the cabinet for consideration.

The cabinet has the right to stall this bill.

 

"Thai opposition Move Forward party’s draft bill on same-sex marriage was dealt a blow today (Wednesday) when the House of Representatives voted to send it for vetting by the cabinet before its first reading in the House.

The move to delay the bill by the cabinet prompted a protest from Julapun Amornvivat, a Pheu Thai MP representing Chiang Mai, claiming that the cabinet’s vetting process will cause the first reading of the bill to be delayed by 3-4 months."

 

 

[brianthainess]

3 hours ago, TooMuchTime said:

Bad news.  How does this work in Thailand will Prayut be able to shut this down?

Maybe he's in favour of it.

 

[Srikcir]

3 hours ago, TooMuchTime said:

Bad news.  How does this work in Thailand will Prayut be able to shut this down?

I see nothing in the Constitution that either the PM or Cabinet can "shut a bill down." The NCPO appointed Senate can as the bill must also pass the Senate ( another several months?).

As the PM must be affiliated with a political party, and a bill is passed by a clear majority of the House, the pro-military party would be supporting the bill. So might if the PM objects, he is opposing his party's majority position.

Now if the bill is an "organic" law, it must also be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. In my opinion, there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits per se same-sex marriage and in fact has provisions that could be interpreted to allow it under human rights. So no CC review.

 

 

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

slowly coming out of the dark ages.

Don't hold your breath.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Spoilt paper?

Never mind, trump will eat it.

[ikke1959]

Something else to delay.. The Civil Union Bill is not passed either....Big words that Thailand is probably the first who approves the Same Sex Marriage, but after 4 years there is still nothing done to make it real.. Taiwan is the first now... 

[mtls2005]

4 hours ago, Excel said:

Well if it ever gets to law then it will help those retirees struggling to meet the 800000 baht in the bank methoed as two mates just go thro the act of getting married and then it's only 400000 each. 

Yeah, my guess is that this refers to two thai people? Maybe one thai and one ferner will be allowed.

 

 

[Pouatchee]

Totally for this. If you love someone you shouldn't have to dance through hoops to get through the red tape in matters such as inheritance if loved one dies. Who knows maybe this will help with tourism...

[brianthainess]

Foreigners won't be allowed Thailand is to Xenophobic for that as per most other things here.

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, Excel said:

Well if it ever gets to law then it will help those retirees struggling to meet the 800000 baht in the bank methoed as two mates just go thro the act of getting married and then it's only 400000 each.  ????  

I bet immigration would want some nice pictures before issuing that marriage extension!

[mtls2005]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

I bet immigration would want some nice pictures before issuing that marriage extension!

Not to mention the "home visit".

 

 

[internationalism]

3 hours ago, Srikcir said:

I see nothing in the Constitution that either the PM or Cabinet can "shut a bill down." The NCPO appointed Senate can as the bill must also pass the Senate ( another several months?).

As the PM must be affiliated with a political party, and a bill is passed by a clear majority of the House, the pro-military party would be supporting the bill. So might if the PM objects, he is opposing his party's majority position.

Now if the bill is an "organic" law, it must also be reviewed by the Constitutional Court. In my opinion, there is nothing in the Constitution that prohibits per se same-sex marriage and in fact has provisions that could be interpreted to allow it under human rights. So no CC review.

 

 

from the other article, which I have quoted, it's less optimistic.

This bill was pushed aside by the ruling coalition.

They not necessarily support it, rather try to bury it. 

If the house is dissolved this year, might be long before it comes back on agenda.

 

again:

"draft bill on same-sex marriage was dealt a blow today (Wednesday) when the House of Representatives voted to send it for vetting by the cabinet before its first reading in the House."

 

 

[connda]

Personally I have no problem with it.

But wait!  Then comes the conundrum for Thai immigration.

Foreign woman married to a Thai man: No financial requirement other the the man must make 20K THB a month and the foreign wife can help him meet that requirement.
Eligible for citizenship after 3 years or 1 year if the woman is the mother of a Thai child.

Foreign man married to a Thai woman: 400K in the bank or 40K in income and a whole lot of hassle if trying to use the latter.  Thai wife can not contribute to help the foreign man meet the requirement.  No path to citizenship <period>.

When this passes (and I'm sure it will):

Foreign man married to a Thai man???
Foreign woman married to a Thai woman???

Suddenly the defining marriage as "two persons" to ensure equal rights for everyone.

Equal rights for everybody in a Thai/Foreigner same-sex marriage? They'll suddenly discover that 'equal rights' suck.
Oh my goodness, what to do, what to do???  ????

Edited February 11, 2022 by connda

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

Never mind, trump will eat it.

Whose Trump?

[scorecard]

Just now, hotchilli said:

Whose Trump?

Perhaps you know him as a clown with small hands, who has no respect for anybody or anything or any laws. And lacking in morals and ethics.

[hotchilli]

Just now, scorecard said:

Perhaps you know him as a clown with small hands, who has no respect for anybody or anything or any laws. And lacking in morals and ethics.

Knew about him, now history... I've moved on.

[Myran]

I wonder what they're going to do in terms of marriage extensions, considering the rules are different for men and women.

[internationalism]

some 3 paragraphs from this deeper article.

But there are more details:

"Puangphet Hengkham and Permsap Sae-Ung, he said, are a lesbian couple who have been living together in Mae Hong Song for the past 13 years, but they are denied the rights given to heterosexual couples, such as being able to authorize medical treatment for their partner, or to name their partner as the beneficiary for life insurance, as a marriage certificate is required for them to have these rights.

They also cannot own property or take out loans together, and even though legal loopholes exist that would allow them to do so, Tunwavaj said that this is not equality, and that many LGBTQ couples are concerned that, since they cannot register their marriage, their property would go to their closest relative upon their death. He said that many members of the LGBTQ community do not live with their family, who also play no role in what they earn during their lifetimes, so the person who inherits their property should be the person who lives with them.

Meanwhile, LGBTQ couples are denied the welfare given to heterosexual couples. Many organizations provide tuition fees and medical fees for their employees, but LGBTQ families are denied these supports, since they are not legally recognized as a family. Tunyawaj gave the example of a transwoman who works as a civil servant and was not compensated for the cost of her partner’s cancer treatment even though civil servants are entitled to such compensation."

 

Title: "Marriage equality bill delayed, forwarded to Cabinet"

https://prachatai.com/english/node/9692

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Knew about him, now history... I've moved on.

"Now history..." That would be nice, but...

[Jingthing]

4 hours ago, Myran said:

I wonder what they're going to do in terms of marriage extensions, considering the rules are different for men and women.

My guess if they ever get marriage equality here is that they'll simply exclude foreigners.