The Senate in Thailand had on Tuesday passed the same-sex bill, immediately legalising gay marriage in the country.
Recall that in March, the lower House passed the bill with only 10 out of the 415 sitting lawmakers voting against its passage.
When this bill finally becomes law, it will make Thailand the third Asian nation and about the 38th country worldwide to approve a same-sex union.
Before Thailand, two Asian countries, Taiwan and Nepal, had originally become countries in Asia where two people of the same gender were legally free to marry each other.
The Thailand Senate had given its approval by 130 votes. Only four members had disapproved of the law, while the rest (18 members) abstained from voting.
This development is not surprising in Thailand as many regions of the country have long supported and campaigned for same-sex marriage.
The journey to same-sex marriage had not been smooth for Thailand as it took years of campaigning thwarted at several stages by sections of the country who opposed it before it came to fruition.
Regardless of this newly passed law, majority of Buddhist-majority Thailand who are traditional and conservative have frowned upon it; thus lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people will still face barriers and discrimination nationwide.
The countries who have made same-sex marriage legal include Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany and Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay.
