Thai artistes have cheered the passing of the marriage equality bill in the Thai Senate, which makes Thailand the first Southeast Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage.
On 18 June, the Thai Senate voted 130-4 to approve the marriage equality bill, which proposes changes to existing laws to include same-sex marriages.
The move comes almost three months since the Thai House of Representatives passed the marriage equality bill. The bill will be enshrined into law after getting the Thai King’s assent.
Almost immediately on social media, several T-Pop stars hailed the historic occasion.
Actor-singer Jeff Satur wrote on X: “Congrats to everyone who has been fighting for a long time. (The law) creates the kind of equality that should exist…(and) should have happened a long time ago.”
LYKN member ‘Lego’ Rapeepong, meanwhile, posted a photo with a T-shirt that says ‘Freedom is Pride’, and said: “Wedding is also freedom”.
His group mates also reposted news reports of the marriage equality bill’s approval.
Staying with boy groups, DICE members ‘Apo’ Wachirakorn and ‘Jay’ Kansopon both posted on X in support of the news. The boys kept it simple, with Apo posting “Ah, alright” and Jay with “This is it.”
‘Pentor’ Jeerapart, whose latest single alludes to same-sex attraction, wrote on X: “May everyone find good love with this equality.”
Other T-Pop stars, including the likes of Billkin and boy group members Chokun (Proxie) and Krittin (PERSES) also reshared news reports about the bill’s passing.
Hent, the country’s first LGBTQ pop group, hails the “historic day for Thailand”.
The group, which made their debut during Bangkok Pride, says: “We are proud to contribute to promoting equality in all dimensions of Thai society and global citizenship, and we celebrate the success of our efforts in advocating for equal marriage.”
Perhaps it was 4MIX member ‘Ninja’ who sums it up the best – the openly queer artiste posted in Thai on Twitter: “When love can happen (with) many genders, (it) is right for marriage to be diverse as well. (It is) the basic equality everyone deserves.”
