Thailand's military government has
backed a bill which seeks to recognize gay and lesbian couples with
civil partnerships.
According to The Guardian, the
bill will not be heard until after new lawmakers are seated following
Thailand's general election in February.
Nada Chaiyajit, a 39-year-old activist
who was consulted on the bill, called it a “big moment” for
Thailand's LGBT community.
“They [ministers] have studied the UK
and other countries and seen that the first step is civil unions,”
Chaiyajit said. “I'm confident that within five years they'll put
[full] marriage equality on the agenda.”
At the moment, no country in Asia
recognizes the unions of gay couples. In November, a referendum on
same-sex marriage failed in Taiwan.
(Related: Taiwan
voters reject same-sex marriage.)
An advisor to Prime Minister Prayuth
Chan-o-cha's office told the Bangkok
Post that the bill would allow gay couples to jointly adopt
children. The
Guardian pointed out that a draft of the bill does not
explicitly mention adoption.