Lawmakers in Thailand Just Voted 400 to 10 In Favor of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage

Thailand’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage on Wednesday, inching one step closer to making Thailand the first Southeast Asian country to protect marriage equality.

Four hundred legislators supported the bill in total, the Associated Press reported, with just 10 in opposition. The bill would replace the words “men and women,” “husband,” and “wife” with “individuals” and “marriage partners” in applicable passages of the national Civil and Commercial Code. It now heads to the national Senate, which must vote on the bill or request further amendments within 60 days, per Thailand’s constitution. Should the Senate approve the bill — as its members are expected to, per the BBC — it will then be sent to King Maha Vajiralongkorn for his signature.

“I want to invite you all to make history,” said Danuphorn Punnakanta, chair of the House committee on marriage equality, before the vote, according to Al Jazeera. “We did this for all Thai people to reduce disparity in society and start creating equality.”