Opinion: LGBTQ+ couples travel to other countries to marry, and we all know why

It’s almost at the end of 2022, and people have been holding their breaths for so long some must have passed out by now—for a same-sex marriage to be recognised as equal. As we can’t wait forever, many just, well, leave.

Ah, Thailand—for a country that is famous for beautiful trans-women, inclusivity in the world of pageantry, and BL dramas regarded as one of the nation’s main soft power. You’d think that lives of LGBTQ+ people here would be flourishing, with our rights recognised as other straight individuals walking down the street, but you’d be wrong.

[Hero image credit: Stanley Dai/Unsplash; featured image credit: Sara Rampazzo/Unsplash]

LGBTQ+ couples travel to other countries to marry, and we all know why

Thailand, as of 2022, does not recognise same-sex marriages. In 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled that the code saying “marriage is only between man and woman” is constitutional, with the full ruling mentioning how members of the LGBTQ+ cannot reproduce, are against nature, and that the community is a “different species” and therefore should be “treated differently.” We aren’t even making this up.

In 2022, the opposition Move Forward Party proposed the long-awaited Marriage Equality Bill, which would simply amend the current marriage laws to be inclusive of any couple consisting of any gender. While that sounds like a simple-enough fix, and sounds very nice if it were to be implemented, the government thought otherwise. After the bill passed the first reading, they proposed the Civil Partnership Bill, which categorises civil partnerships as a separate category instead.

Civil partnerships, with their dandy, fun name, grant some rights—not all, compared to the couples comprised of those with differing genitalia. You want to start a family together and adopt a child of your own? Tough luck. Receive healthcare benefits? Maybe next time. Get a say in your spouse’s dead body or literally anything when they’ve passed? Have fun getting through their conservative family that can legally bar you from your own dead spouse’s funeral.

Travelling for a marriage certificate

That’s why many Thais travel to other countries just to have their relationship recognised by law. There are currently 32 countries where you can obtain a same-sex marriage certificate: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Uruguay.

The closest country you can travel to, and the only one in Asia, is Taiwan. Even then, the marriage must involve a Taiwanese citizen in one party.

You can fully travel to other countries to do so, but if you happen to be a person working 9 to 5 (what a way to make a livin’), that choice may sound a bit bleak and cold as you consider the other option: stay right where you are, not spend tons of money, and let your relationship stay this way.

Still, even if you do so, it’s not like your rights will be recognised when you travel back to Thailand, anyway.

A question of equality, not privilege

Sometimes, when there’s a post on social media, there’ll be some presumably-straight guy in the comments saying that the way for us not to be segregated and different, is to not talk about how we’re segregated and different all the time. There’ll be that one asking “what about straight pride?” or “when’s straight month?” There’ll be saying that the gays™ always want special privilege.

This issue of marriage proves two irrefutable points. One, is that the gays™ actually just want to be treated the same as those other guys catcalling women and kicking dogs, or whatever you straight people do. We’re just asking for the same rights, nothing more, nothing less. Two, the stigma is alive and well, especially those sitting in the parliament, or else our call to equal rights would be passed with flying colours by now. There are still those who think LGBTQ+ folks deserve less, just because they’re different. And until we’re not treated less, we should still be talking about it all the time.

In the end, this article will most likely be treated like any other article opting for equal rights—as a bleak cry for activism, ignored by those with power holding on to their gold-plated chairs. After all, how many articles have we written, rallies have we held, and campaigns have we launched just for us to be treated the same?

Still, if someone were to stumble upon this article, and have their mind changed just a little, and be just a little bit more understanding of the LGBTQ+ community and the ridiculousness in our having to travel for marriage, I’ll be very much content.

According to Section Four of the Thai Consitution, “Thai people shall enjoy equal protection under the Constitution.” How great must it feel to be treated as equal to everyone else.