Thailand Holds Public Hearings to Consider Civil Union Bill

[Guest fountainhall]

A public hearing was held last Friday as part of a discussion process on the possibility of a civil partnership bill being introduced in parliament that will permit same-sex couples equal marriage rights. The meeting was arranged jointly by the Rights and Liberties Protection Department and the House committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights, and was held at Chandrakasem Rajabhat University in Bangkok. More than 200 people turned up for the meeting.

The House Committee under its Chairman Pol Gen Viroon Phuensaen, a Pheu Thai Party-list MP, started drafting the bill a year ago after receiving a complaint from a gay male couple. The couple said they had been denied a marriage certificate.
 

 

The bill would give same-sex couples the same marriage rights as other couples, said Setthawut Rugsujitrat, a participant at the public hearing.

However, Mr Setthawut said getting the bill passed will be tough in this country's traditional society.

A gay man at the hearing who asked not to be named said he was pleased about the bill. He called the potential changes necessary.

"In the current situation, if my boyfriend passed away, I don't have the right to retrieve his body from the hospital," he said. "And what about our assets and properties we had bought together."

Pol Gen Viroon said marriage was still reserved for a man and a woman only . . .

Pol Gen Viroon said the code would not be amended. Same-sex couples would be able to legally register their relationships under so-called civil partnerships if and when the draft bill becomes law.

Pol Col Narat Sawettanant, director-general of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, said the current Civil and Commercial Code has not kept up with changing perspectives on gender diversity.

The number of same-sex relationships is increasing and many of the couples want to raise families, he said. They face the problem of not being legally certified by the state.

As a result, they lose many basic rights such as joint taxation, inheritance, family health coverage and medical decision-making, he said.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/335059/hundreds-back-civil-unions-for-gay-couples

Three more public hearings will take place at Chiang Mai University on Friday, Khon Kaen University on Feb 22 and Prince of Songkhla University on March 1.

[TotallyOz]

It would be great to see this but holding hearings is not going to help too much. Isn't the current party in power the ones who more anti gay?

[Bob]

It would be great to see this but holding hearings is not going to help too much. Isn't the current party in power the ones who more anti gay?

 

In spite of regularly reading the morass of Thai governmental news, I'm actually unaware of which party - Peua Thai or the Democrats - is more or less supportive of gay rights.  So, I'm curious as to why you think Peua Thai is more anti-gay than the Democrats.  The current issue at least stems from a Peua Thai member (I don't remember Abhisit or his co-horts ever suggesting even the study of any such issues).

 

Regardless, given it's my belief that the Thai government (all political parties) and the general population are far behind the times on most social issues, I'd expect this proposal to go nowhere.  Plus it's pretty much axiomatic that one of the two major political parties will oppose it if there's even a hint that the other major poltical party might support it (somewhat the same political situation in the US, huh?).

[Guest fountainhall]

Bob is correct. I cannot think of an instance where either party has come out in favour of or against gay rights. I suspect Pheu Thai felt it had to take on the issue because it had received a formal objection. Proceeding with hearings at least gives the impression that it is doing something which might give it brownie points with the UN Human Rights Council. Like Bob, I don't see it going anywhere.

[Guest Chithai]

I do hope the government is serious on this issue; is it not possible that since they are looking at civil unions instead of same-sex marriage that they may in fact be considering granting this right?