<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>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>The Thai parliament voted yesterday (9 February 2022) to forward the marriage equality bill, proposed by Move Forward Party (MFP), to the Cabinet for consideration, delaying the bill&rsquo;s first reading.</p>

<p>Despite the Constitutional Court&#39;s ruling that only allowing marriage registration to heterosexual couple does not go against the Constitution, Thai activists are moving forward in their fight for marriage equality.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A <a href="https://www.support1448.org/">petition</a> proposing amendments to the Civil Commercial Code to allow marriage between LGBTQ couples has gained over 100,000 signatures overnight after it was launched during Sunday night&rsquo;s demonstration (28 November).</p>

<p>The Constitutional Court has postponed to 14 December 2021 a hearing on a petition filed by an LGBTQ couple and the Foundation for SOGI Rights and Justice (For-SOGI) to rule whether the current Thai marriage law violates the 2017 Constitution.</p>

<p>The Thai parliament on 2 July invited public consultation on the proposed amendments to the sections on marriage and family in the Thai Civil and Commercial Code which will allow LGBT couples to get married.</p>

<p>On 31 December 2019, the Constitutional Court of Thailand decided not to accept a <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/8284">petition</a> made by two LGBT couples and the Foundation for SOGI Rights and Justice (For-SOGI) on 22 November 2019, requesting the Court to rule whether the current Thai marriage law violates the 2017 Constitution.</p>

<div>&nbsp;</div> <div><img alt="" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4165/34654218016_9ee357b1ec_b.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Last month, a photo of Saudi Arabia’s Girl’s Council became viral because of one peculiarity: the total absence of women and girls in it. Thousands of Thais – including many LGBTIs – must have sniggered at the image. </div>

<div>The parliament appointed by the military junta is expected to pass the Civil Partnership Act, the first law in Thailand to recognize the existence of same-sex couples. However, the bill is widely unacceptable to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists.</div> <p></p>