AP PHOTOS: As Thailand approves same-sex marriage, a couple celebrates feeling freed

Sep 25, 2024
ap-photos:-as-thailand-approves-same-sex-marriage,-a-couple-celebrates-feeling-freed

By  SAKCHAI LALIT

 

BANGKOK (AP) — Kunchanok Khantiphong and Edward Jonathan Caiga were at work when Thailand’s Senate voted to allow same-sex marriages on a June afternoon.

At home that evening, the couple celebrated over hopeful conversations of how their lives would change. Marriage and building a family were important to both of them. Now it could become a reality.

Thailand’s landmark marriage equality bill was officially written into law on Tuesday, after it was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. LGBTQ+ couples will be able to register marriages from January, making Thailand the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, to allow same-sex marriage.

Caiga, who came to Thailand from the Philippines 17 years ago, said he’s feeling more secure and confident knowing that he’ll be able to live in his adopted home permanently, and to adopt a child or buy a home with his partner.

Displaying a tattoo that reads “Freed” across his right arm, Caiga says it is meant to express being freed from the negative perceptions of other people, whether it is about race, culture and diversity.

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Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, displays a tattoo on his arm in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, July 14, 2024, (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, right, and his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga ,42, cook a meal at home in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, right, and his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, eat lunch at home in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

“This law will help enforce further the fundamental necessities, which is fair to have for everyone who wants to spend the rest of their lives with the people they love,” he said.

Kunchanok, 27, and Caiga, 42, say they plan to get married once the law goes into effect.

Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity, but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law. Thai society has broadly conservative values, and members of the LGBTQ+ community say they face discrimination in everyday life.

The government led by the Pheu Thai party has made marriage equality one of its main goals. It had a major presence at the annual Bangkok Pride parade in June, in which thousands of people celebrated in one of Bangkok’s busiest commercial districts.

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Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, left, and his partner Kunchanok Khantiphong, 27, watch television at home in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, left, blow dries the hair of his partner Kunchanok Khantiphong, 27, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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A hand drawn postcard made by Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, for his partner Kunchanok Khantiphong, 27, is seen on a pin board at their home in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Kunchanok said the law was a milestone in a country where it used to be very hard to love someone from the same gender.

“After this law, we can be a whole package with each other. A real couple. A legal couple. I’ll be able to take care of him because he’s alone here,” he said.

On a clear Saturday morning, the couple rode their bikes to a nearby park to feed the birds and fish. Later, they had a video call with Edward’s family in the Philippines.

“Thailand is now what I call home,” Edward said.

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, speaks with a family member of his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok Khantiphong, 27, and his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, left, feed bread to fish at Nong Bon Lake park in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, left, and his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, leave after feeding the fish at Nong Bon Lake park in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, left, and his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42 play with pigeons at Nong Bon Lake Park in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Kunchanok khantiphong, 27, lifts dumbbells watched by his Filipino partner Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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Edward Jonathan Caiga, 42, front left, and Kunchanok Khantiphong, 27, front right, raise a toast with their friends at the Banpuku Yokocho restaurant, where they had their first date, in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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