Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that the current law of the land that only recognizes heterosexual relationships is constitutional, even as it added that the government “should draft laws that guarantee the rights for gender diverse people,” according to a statement.
This is similar to the position of the Supreme Court of the Philippines when it junked with finality in 2020 the petition to allow same-sex marriage in the country.
The Thai government has actually been working on a bill that would allow same-sex partners to adopt children, jointly manage assets and liabilities, and to inherit from their partners. But the bill does not push for marriage equality, mimicking many Western countries’ “equal but not equal” stance on granting rights to same-sex couples as long as they do not push for marriage equality.
In Asia, only Taiwan allows same-sex couples to register, allowing such unions since 2019.
