NHRC To Support Gay Marriage Rights In Thailand

[webfact]

NHRC to support gay marriage rights

By The Nation

The Office of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Sexual Diversity Network are considering pushing forward draft legislation to back the marital status of "gay" relationships.

NHRC secretary-general Chuchai Suphawong said yesterday the draft law to back "gay" relationship status was a good thing and NHRC would fully support it.

Chuchai was speaking at a seminar considering draft laws to be proposed in the lead-up to the Asia Pacific Forum (of national human rights groups), which will hold its annual meeting and biennial conference at Bangkok's Shangri-la Hotel from today.

Chuchai said the commission would propose the draft law to the APF meeting in a bid to push the government to support the law.

Sexual Diversity Network representative Pongsathorn Chanreun said it would join the NHRC in pushing for the law to be passed, to give homosexual people access to social and human security rights such as heritage, childcare, insurance and medical care benefits, as they were basic rights all should have.

-- The Nation 2011-09-06

[chainarong]

I could be wrong , i thought there would be more important things to sort out in Thailand, as I said, I could be wrong.

[Richard4849]

I think it's possible to work on more than one thing at a time.

[Junglejumbo]

I could be wrong , i thought there would be more important things to sort out in Thailand, as I said, I could be wrong.

Inability to focus on more than one issue is a sign of a low IQ

[tominbkk]

I could be wrong , i thought there would be more important things to sort out in Thailand, as I said, I could be wrong.

Lots of stuff to work out, many negative things to fix, but if they could pass this it would be a good thing!

[Richard4849]

Agree, it would be a great thing for the country.

[Cnxforever]

Kudos to Khun Chuchai Suphawong and the NHRC - that is great news!

I hope Thailand will join the progressive countries who have already passed these laws.

Away from the dark ages into the 21st century!

[JohnC]

will that mean "marriage visa" for gay couples?

[Soutpeel]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

[tominbkk]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

Why? If a male and female want to get married now, they can. Two like sexes cannot. I Don't understand your statement.

[volatilekoala]

It would be amazing if this all panned out and gay marriage recognized. I'm personally affected by this, so it would mean the world to both me and my partner if this passed. To the person that commented saying that Thailand should be concentrating on other "more important things", this is a very important "thing" and if you havent noticed how many people this affects, OPEN YOUR EYES AND TAKE A LOOK AROUND at the huge gay, lesbian and transgender community!

[Jingthing]

Immigration rights was NOT mentioned as something they are seeking for gay married couples. So hold your horses, don't be so silly as to ASSUME that even if legal gay marriage is passed in Thailand that will instantly mean equal immigration rights for couples. I'm not sure about the chances the basic proposal even has of passing in the short term. If I had to make a rough guess, I would guess Thailand will someday get marriage equality but that it will take at least 10 or 20 years to happen.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[AbdulJabaar01]

NHRC to support gay marriage rights

To focus on this issue is not a local issue, but an issue that has been gaining attention throughout the world for quite a number of years. I feel it’s a very positive move for Thailand to do. What harm could it come from supporting gay marriage rights.

I mean, how long has Thailand had Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender population?

Thailand is considered a country with a highly visible G/L/B/T community. Just go around any University and you will see people of the same sex holding hands, kissing, and acting like couples.

Same sex couples often have to resort to getting their marriage done in a Buddhist religious ceremony, whilst the government will not even go near this issue.

[grungteep]

I certainly like the idea of being able to get a "marriage visa" if immigration rights are included (not a sure thing as this could be intended for Thai national gay couples only). However the thought of foreign spouse property rights being 'equally' applied as they currently exist under Thai law, now that's scary. Any regular reader of this forum has heard or knows of married foreigners who end up with nothing but a sad story after a divorce or even just a separation from their Thai wife. So in the case of gay marriage without revision of foreign husband rights issues, it's best to be careful what we ask for as we just might get it. Possibly leading to a rash of gay farangs falling off balconies in Pattaya.

[AbdulJabaar01]

There are also other Human Rights Issues that Thai government does exploit, but it's not being addressed. Only the gay issue.

[Richard4849]

What human rights issue affects more Thais than this?

[plumeria]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

Why? If a male and female want to get married now, they can. Two like sexes cannot. I Don't understand your statement.

I think it was clear enough for anyone who wanted to understand. Why must a heterosexual couple be required to get certification?

EVERYBODY deserves these rights so why gays first?

Louder and more active does not mean a particular group of citizens deserves priority over the vast majority of people.

Although I hesitate to guess if common-law heterosexual relationships outnumber gay relationships in Thailand.

Fix the MAJOR stuff that needs fixing and the minor stuff will not be far behind.

There is perhaps no country on the planet where gay people experience so little discrimination as in Thailand so in the overall scheme of things I agree this is not a priority and plenty of other stuff should rank higher.

Gays do NOT suffer in Thailand at all. They've got it good. No penalties of which I am aware.

[plumeria]

Give Thai women equal rights and equal protection first.

[plumeria]

I certainly like the idea of being able to get a "marriage visa" if immigration rights are included (not a sure thing as this could be intended for Thai national gay couples only). However the thought of foreign spouse property rights being 'equally' applied as they currently exist under Thai law, now that's scary. Any regular reader of this forum has heard or knows of married foreigners who end up with nothing but a sad story after a divorce or even just a separation from their Thai wife. So in the case of gay marriage without revision of foreign husband rights issues, it's best to be careful what we ask for as we just might get it. Possibly leading to a rash of gay farangs falling off balconies in Pattaya.

This is a good example.

Thai WOMEN who are married to a person of another nationality are viewed and treated one way.

Thai MEN married to a foreigner are treated in a totally different AND MORE FAVORABLE way, including regarding visas and other privileges.

Fix the basic inequality between MEN and WOMEN in Thailand, then minorities within the primary groups.

YES! Let's get a bit of equality for foreign spouses too! (Yeah, maybe in a few reincarnations from now 55555555555555!)

[mike123ca]

To take this a step further,

If there is a "Gay" marriage visa, what would be the visa requirements.

If they were based upon the current requirements for "marriage visa"

Man married to Thai male national. The Thai male would be required to show that

he can support his spouse. No money will be needed to be put in a bank for 3 months.

Woman married to Thai female national. The foreign female would be required to show

that she can support her spouse. 400,000 baht would be required to be put in a bank

account for 3 months.

[Jingthing]

Gays do NOT suffer in Thailand at all. They've got it good. No penalties of which I am aware.

This isn't a suffering contest, mate. Many gays are under a lot of social pressure to marry the opposite sex, have children, and conform to the heterosexual expectations of their families. In other words, to stay in the closet. That's a severe social penalty for those who feel they must do so, and there are many. To say there isn't homophobia and repression of gays in Thailand shows total ignorance of the reality here for many Thai gays, perhaps especially Thai Chinese gays. Is it Iran? No. I find this obsession to deny homosexuals equal rights because there are OTHER social equality issues that should be dealt with as well to be thinly veiled homophobia that should fool no one. Why so stingy with allowing equal rights for ANY group? It's like you see this as a zero sum game. "Give" rights to homos and someone else loses. Nope, it doesn't work that way.

Edited September 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[tominbkk]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

Why? If a male and female want to get married now, they can. Two like sexes cannot. I Don't understand your statement.

I think it was clear enough for anyone who wanted to understand. Why must a heterosexual couple be required to get certification?

EVERYBODY deserves these rights so why gays first?

Louder and more active does not mean a particular group of citizens deserves priority over the vast majority of people.

Although I hesitate to guess if common-law heterosexual relationships outnumber gay relationships in Thailand.

Fix the MAJOR stuff that needs fixing and the minor stuff will not be far behind.

There is perhaps no country on the planet where gay people experience so little discrimination as in Thailand so in the overall scheme of things I agree this is not a priority and plenty of other stuff should rank higher.

Gays do NOT suffer in Thailand at all. They've got it good. No penalties of which I am aware.

I still don't get your point though. Common law straight couples have the choice to legally get married. "Common law" gay couples do not. Giving the gay couples the right to get married would equal the playing ground for straight and gay couples who choose to get married should they desire.

I also think that recognition and acceptance of gay unions would encourage more gay couples to legitimize their unions, and hopefully provide more legal rights that straight married couples have, esp in regards to wills, insurance, and other things.

Edited September 6, 2011 by tominbkk

[connor6063]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

Why? If a male and female want to get married now, they can. Two like sexes cannot. I Don't understand your statement.

He means if that there has to be a law for same sex couples to get married there should be a law for male and female marriages too.

This is off topic but does a ladyboy count as a male or a female in marriage?

[Jingthing]

Only heterosex marriages are legalized in Thailand. So if a ladyboy could get his ID changed from his birth sex male to his altered sex female, they could be married legally as a man and woman. The key is the ID card. So any such marriages in any country without legal gay marriage, would be male-female marriages. I am skirting around the question as I don't happen to know if it's possible for a Thai transgender to get his ID card changed at this point. If not, such couples can't get married, the same as gay couples here can't get married.

It's not actually that off topic as it amplifies the absurdity of governments restricting which adult people should be allowed to get married.

In countries where gay marriage is legal, it's irrelevant what a transgender would be labeled as. Whatever is the local law custom such as spouse and spouse, man and man, woman and woman, man and woman, whatever ...

Edited September 6, 2011 by Jingthing

[tombkk]

Of course if something like this was passed as law, they would also have to concede that common law "marriages" between males and females being legally recognised as well.

Why? If a male and female want to get married now, they can. Two like sexes cannot. I Don't understand your statement.

I think it was clear enough for anyone who wanted to understand. Why must a heterosexual couple be required to get certification?

EVERYBODY deserves these rights so why gays first?

What do you mean? Straight people can marry already. The point is that there should be no difference.

Whatever certification you are talking about (please let us know) will be the same. There is no "gays first" policy suggested all. What makes you thnk so?

[tombkk]

There are also other Human Rights Issues that Thai government does exploit, but it's not being addressed. Only the gay issue.

What makes you say that?

This thread is about marriage. Other threads are about other issues. It's as simple as that.

[tombkk]

Immigration rights was NOT mentioned as something they are seeking for gay married couples. So hold your horses, don't be so silly as to ASSUME that even if legal gay marriage is passed in Thailand that will instantly mean equal immigration rights for couples. I'm not sure about the chances the basic proposal even has of passing in the short term. If I had to make a rough guess, I would guess Thailand will someday get marriage equality but that it will take at least 10 or 20 years to happen.

I will indeed assume that legalized gay marriage comes with the same rights as straight marriages. Otherwise it will be a half-hearted attempt.

[tombkk]

will that mean "marriage visa" for gay couples?

Certainly hope so, such as in Europe.

[Jingthing]

Immigration rights was NOT mentioned as something they are seeking for gay married couples. So hold your horses, don't be so silly as to ASSUME that even if legal gay marriage is passed in Thailand that will instantly mean equal immigration rights for couples. I'm not sure about the chances the basic proposal even has of passing in the short term. If I had to make a rough guess, I would guess Thailand will someday get marriage equality but that it will take at least 10 or 20 years to happen.

I will indeed assume that legalized gay marriage comes with the same rights as straight marriages. Otherwise it will be a half-hearted attempt.

Why assume something that isn't even in legislative form as a proposal yet and likely won't be anytime soon? I share your hope that it would be in the real deal, but find assuming it would be to be very premature. Especially considering based on the OP the people lobbying for this haven't even bothered to mention immigration equality issues.