The King of Thailand signed a marriage equality bill into law in September. The law, passed by parliament in June, takes effect 120 days after signing, so the first same-sex marriages should take place in January.
Thailand becomes the third country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage after Taiwan and Nepal. But Thai law will make it the only country with adoption rights and inheritance laws for married couples.
The Thai law also removes gendered words from marriage law. So man and woman, husband and wife simply become the Thai equivalent of spouse.
But the LGBTQ community in Thailand still expects discrimination in this conservative Buddhist nation. Still, in nearby Brunei, Malaysia and Myanmar, homosexual activity is illegal — David Taffet