Thai court rules same-sex marriage 'unnatural' not constitutionally recognized

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Thailand's fight for marriage equality is frustrated! A lesbian couple has challenged the government's rejection of the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. Thailand's Constitutional Court recently issued a ruling that not only ruled that same-sex marriage was not constitutionally recognized, but also issued a 12-page statement full of sexism and homophobia explaining its "reasons for the decision", including criticizing same-sex marriage as "helpless to reproduce, build a family, and succeed in the future." Incense lamps,” and even “undermine the laws of nature and family unity,” affecting society and the very foundation of human existence. The court's discriminatory remarks immediately aroused public outrage. Not only did demonstrations break out in Bangkok, but local marriage equality organizations also launched a petition. In just a few weeks, more than 270,000 signatures have been accumulated to show their dissatisfaction with the ruling.

In many people's minds, Thailand is a gender-friendly country in Asia, and the government has been using this international image to develop the "rainbow economy" and tourism. However, in fighting for equal rights in same-sex marriage, Thailand has been unable to pass same-sex marriage or civil union for many years. Last year, lesbian couples Permsub Sae-ung and Puangphet Hengkham, who had been dating for 12 years, tried to register their marriage at a regional office in Bangkok, but were rejected by the office staff on the grounds that "two women cannot marry." They later complained to the court, claiming that Section 1448 of Thailand's Civil and Commercial Code stipulates that only men and women can marry, which is unfair to the gender/gender minority and violates the constitutional guarantee of equal marriage rights, and requested the court to make a ruling.

Judge: Gender/gender niche is tantamount to animals with strange habits in nature

The Constitutional Court of Thailand was originally scheduled to issue a ruling by the end of 2020, but it took a year to finally pronounce the verdict in November 2021, and the result was disappointing. Although the Constitutional Court said in its judgment that lawmakers and the government should draft a bill to expand the protection of the rights of the gender/gender minority, it also "finally" ruled that the constitution does not recognize same-sex marriage. But what really caused the public uproar and anger was the court's subsequent 12-page statement in early December . The eight male judges who signed the statement hoped to explain the rationale of the ruling, but the content was full of sexism, homophobia and conservative bias. For example, the judge believed that the purpose of marriage is to procreate, establish a family, and continue family blood, but same-sex unions only For pure "sexual orientation and sexual attraction", it does not meet the definition of marriage; the judge even criticized same-sex marriage as destroying the laws of nature and family unity, which are very important to the existence of society and human beings Animals with strange habits and characteristics in nature".

After the court's discriminatory remarks came out, the Thai people's response was very intense. In an interview with foreign media, local gender/gender equality activist Guts Thorngrop Rodsavas criticized the ruling "there are many homophobic tropes and transphobic arguments", these comments from the court may make conservatives I think my opinion is more correct. He also added that although Thailand is often referred to as a "gay paradise" and even the National Tourism Administration often promotes this image as a selling point, the ruling shows that the reality is not so good: "We are not free even in our own country, we cannot marry whoever you want."

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The ruling provokes public outrage, and online signatures exceed the number of signatures required to be submitted to Congress in one day

In order to protest the court's ruling, the Rainbow Coalition for Marriage Equality, a joint marriage equality organization consisting of more than 40 Thai gender/gender organizations, launched a petition to demand that the government revise the civil law definition of marriage, from only one man and one woman to one that does not limit both parties. gender. The co-signer has collected 100,000 signatures on the first day, far exceeding the legal number of signatures that can be submitted to Congress, and the number of signatures has now accumulated to more than 270,000. Although the epidemic is raging in Thailand, a large-scale demonstration rally broke out in Bangkok on November 28. The demonstrators made protest signs and hung rainbow flags on the streets. There were also gender/gender affirmative action activists wearing wedding dresses wrapped in rainbow ribbons, standing on the The platform waved the flag symbolizing marriage equality.

The Thai government wants to push the civil union to break through the parliament and sink into the sea

In fact, the Thai government has always been inclined to legislate to protect the rights and interests of same-sex couples in addition to the traditional marriage system and civil law framework. For example, in July 2020, the Cabinet approved the Civil Partnership Bill proposed by the Ministry of Justice, which allows same-sex partners. The partner goes through civil registration. Although not equal to same-sex marriage, it guarantees same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples on many levels, including the rights to adopt children and inherit partner property. At the time, if the bill was passed by Congress, Thailand would become the second place in Asia to pass same-sex marriage or civil union after Taiwan. It is a pity that the bill is stuck in the stage of congressional approval and has not progressed so far. Following the court's ruling against same-sex marriage, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam also reiterated that the government will continue to push the Civil Partnership Bill to guarantee equal rights for same-sex couples.

Further reading: [Marriage Equal Rights] One article to understand! Progress of marriage equality in Taiwan, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong

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