Lawmakers in Thailand overwhelmingly approve a bill to legalize same-sex marriage

BANGKOK (AP) — Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament have overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. A total of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives in attendance voted for the bill Wednesday. It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples. The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first place in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal.