Police officer Pisit “Kew” Sirihirunchai hopes to be the first to marry his long-term partner Chanatip “Jane” Sirihirunchai as Thailand’s long-awaited equal marriage law comes into effect on Thursday.

About 180 same-sex couples are registering their marriages at one of Bangkok’s largest shopping malls, an event city officials helped organize to celebrate the legal milestone.

“We’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” Pister said. “We’ve been waiting for the law to catch up and support us.”

The two have been together for seven years. To formalize their relationship, they have gone to a Buddhist monk to give them an auspicious new last name they can share – Sirihirunchai. They also asked local officials to sign a letter of intent, which they both signed, pledging to get married.

But they say their real dream is for their union to be recognized by Thai law. This means LGBTQ+ couples now have the same rights as any other couple to engage and marry, manage assets, inherit and adopt children.

If their partner becomes ill and incapacitated, they can make decisions about medical treatment, or provide financial benefits to their spouse – such as Pister’s government pension.

“We want to build a future together – build a house, start a small business together, maybe open a cafe,” he added, listing everything that was allowed by law. “We want to build our future together and look after each other.”

Prissett said he had the full support of his colleagues in the police department and hoped he would encourage others working in government to be open about their sexuality: “They should feel emboldened because they can see that we are open about our sexuality. There will be no impact, nothing but positive impact.” “

Prisit and Chanadeep, both a young couple in their 30s, faced fewer obstacles than those who came out earlier.

But for their community, it’s been a long journey. While Thailand is notoriously tolerant of LGBTQ+ people, campaigners say a sustained campaign is needed to win legal recognition.

“We have been waiting for this day for 18 years – the day when everyone can recognize us publicly and we no longer have to shy away or hide,” said Rungtiwa Thangkanopast, 59, who will marry her partner of 18 years in May .

She married a gay man under the arrangement of her family, but the man later died. She gave birth to a daughter through in vitro fertilization, but after her husband died she began spending time in, and later helping to run, one of Bangkok’s first lesbian bars. Then she met Phanlavee, 45, who goes by only her first name.

On Valentine’s Day 2013, the two women went to the Bang Rak district office in central Bangkok to request an official marriage ceremony – a popular place to register marriages because Bang Rak means “city of love” in Thai.

It was around this time that LGBTQ+ couples began trying to obtain marriage licenses at regional offices, challenging the official view of marriage as an exclusively heterosexual partnership.

About 400 heterosexual couples were waiting with them that day. Rungtiwa and Phanlavee were rejected, and the Thai media mocked their efforts and used derogatory slang for lesbians.

Still, activists managed to persuade the government to consider changing the marriage law. A proposed Civil Partnership Bill has been tabled in Parliament, which would provide some official recognition to same-sex couples but not the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples.

The movement was interrupted by a 2014 military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. It would be another decade before Parliament approved full marriage equality, in part due to the rise of young, progressive parties that championed the cause.

Their message resonated with Thais and attitudes changed. By this time, same-sex marriage had been legalized in many Western countries, and same-sex love had become the norm in Thai culture.

The law was passed last year with an overwhelming majority of 400 votes to only 10 dissenters. Even in the notoriously conservative Senate, only four people opposed the law.

Couples like Rungtiwa and Phanleeva now have the opportunity to have their love for each other recognized without fear of public ridicule.

“This law brings legitimacy to our family,” Longiva said. “We are no longer viewed as weirdos simply because our daughters were not raised by heterosexual parents.”

The new law deletes gender-specific terms such as “man”, “woman”, “husband” and “wife” from 70 chapters of the Thai Civil Code that deal with marriage, and replaces them with gender-neutral terms such as “individual” and “spouse” replace.

However, there are still dozens of laws in the Thai code that are not yet gender neutral, and there are still barriers to same-sex couples using surrogacy to start families.

Under Thai law, parents are still defined as mother and father. The law also does not allow people to use their preferred gender on official documents; they still stick to their birth gender. Activists say they still need to continue pushing for change in these areas.

However, it is a historic moment for Thailand, which is an outlier in Asia in recognizing marriage equality. This is especially important for older couples, who must go through attitudinal changes.

“I really hope that people will abandon the old stereotype that gay people cannot have true love,” said Chakkrit “Ink” Vadhanavira.

He and his partner Pulin, who is in their 40s, have been together for 24 years.

Chakkrit said: “For over 20 years, the two of us have proven that we truly love each other and share the joys and sorrows. From the first day we were together, we were ready to take care of each other. We are no different from straight couples.” . “

While Chakkrit’s parents were quick to accept their partnership, it took Prinn’s parents seven years to do so.

The couple also wanted to share their joint production business and other assets as husband and wife, so they asked Prine’s parents to formally adopt Chakkrit and give him the same surname. Pullin said the new law brings welcome legal clarity for them.

“For example, now when a same-sex couple buys something together — a big-ticket item — they can’t share ownership of it,” Pullin said. “When one of us dies, what we have earned together cannot be passed on to the other. That’s why marriage equality is so important.”

Today, Pring said, both parents treat them like any other married child.

Their parents help them when they have relationship problems like other couples.

“My dad even started reading gay magazines to get to know me better. It was so cute to see that.”

Additional reporting by Thanyarat Doksone and Ryn Jirenuwat in Bangkok