The frontrunner to become Thailand’s next Prime Minister has vowed to support gay marriage.
Pink News reported that the Move Forward Party leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, promised to legalize same-sex marriage within 100 days of taking office.
After attending the second annual Bangkok Pride parade since 2006, which took place over the weekend, Limjaroenrat described Thailand as ‘a country driven by love, not fear’.
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“Diversity is not a weakness, but a strength of this country,” the former member of the House of Representatives wrote to his social media.
“Love is love and love must win. It’s about telling the world about the values we share.
“The way forward is to see that people are equal no matter who you are.
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“We all have equal human dignity and must have equality before the law and receive public services from the state fairly and equally, not be discriminated against.”
So far, Taiwan is the only Asian country to legalize gay marriage, which became official on May 24, 2019, after the Taiwanese parliament rejected a last-minute attempt from conservative lawmakers for a watered-down ‘civil union’ law.
A-ha, nice try guys.
The bill was passed by 66 to 27 votes.
Following the good news, President Tsai Ing-wen issued a statement, which read: “Good morning Taiwan. Today, we have a chance to make history & show the world that progressive values can take root in an East Asian society.
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“Today, we can show the world that #LoveWins.”
The bill's passing led to hundreds of couples getting married on the first day the law was enacted.
According to The Guardian, Marc Yuan and Shane Lin were the first to sign their marriage certificate, with legendary Taiwanese LGBTQ rights campaigner Chi Chia-wei present for their nuptials.
The couple had been waiting 12 years for the law to change and didn’t waste any time putting a ring on it.
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“It has been a remarkable achievement for Taiwan’s same-sex marriage movement, and I feel lucky to have the blessings from my friends and family,” Lin told the outlet.
“I still remember how I tried to hide the rainbow flag after I attended the first gay pride parade in Taipei over a decade ago.
"But today, I am able to openly tell the world through these cameras that I’m gay and I’m getting married. I felt really fortunate.”
Marriages between Taiwanese and foreign citizens were initially restricted to citizens from countries that recognized same-sex marriage.
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However, that law was later rescinded in January of this year.
Topics: News, World News, LGBTQ, Politics