<p>LGBTQ rights activists went to parliament yesterday (8 September) to file an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/femliberateth/photos/a.100889168409175/610728587425228/">open letter</a> calling for parliament to pass the Marriage Equality bill in its second and third readings.</p>

<p>The Drafting Committee for the Civil Partnership bill and the Marriage Equality bill has said that it will push for both bills to go before parliament before the end of the current session, while concerns have been raised about homophobia among committee members.</p>

<p>In January 2020, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) launched the&nbsp;LGBTQ+ travel marketing outrach campaign #GoThaiBeFree, presenting Thailand as a heaven for LGBTQ+ tourists. Verita Sriratana discusses how this image has been challenged as Thailand&#39;s LGBTQ+ community continue to struggle with discrimination and lack of legal rights.</p>

<p>The Thai Parliament on Wednesday (15 June) voted to pass the Marriage Equality bill and the Civil Partnership bill in their first reading.</p>

<p>After a hiatus of nearly two decades, the Pride Parade returned to Bangkok last Sunday with a bang, drawing crowds of LGBTQ community members, sex workers, feminists, political dissidents, and even corporate representatives.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The first reading of the Marriage Equality bill has once again been delayed, while the Cabinet has endorsed the Civil Partnership bill, previously criticised for not granting the same rights and dignity to LGBTQ couples as heterosexual couples.</p>

<p>Thailand&#39;s House of Representatives should approve the Marriage Equality bill to protect the right to marriage and family to everyone regardless of gender, said the human rights organization <a href="https://www.fortifyrights.org/tha-inv-2022-06-07/">Fortify Rights</a> today (7 June).</p>

<p>On Sunday afternoon (5 June), a parade took place on Silom Road in celebration of LGBTQ Pride and to demand equal rights for the LGBTQ community.</p>

<p>On 17 May, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT), activists held a rally for LGBTQ rights and called for marriage equality by rewriting the Constitutional Court&rsquo;s ruling on the Thai marriage law.</p>

<p>The Thai Cabinet has rejected the Marriage Equality Bill proposed by the Move Forward Party (MFP), claiming that it is similar to the Civil Partnership Bill proposed by the government.</p>

<p>A student in Lamphun has been ordered to take down a set of campaign photographs on marriage equality from their social media account by their school administration, which claims that protests should not be done on campus or in uniform.</p>

<p>On Valentine&rsquo;s Day, activists in Bangkok and several other provinces organized activities to campaign for marriage equality, after the proposed amendments to the marriage law to allow registration of marriage regardless of gender were delayed by parliament.</p>