Rainbow Power: Hundreds demand marriage equality in Bangkok (Photos)

All photos: Chayanit Itthipongmaetee

When a large crowd gathered yesterday evening to rally for the right of same-sex couples to marry in Thailand, the authorities tolerated it on one condition: They only block half of Ratchaprasong intersection.

That seeming metaphor for the second-class status Thai society affords LGBTQ+ rights – tolerated but unequal – is what spurred Sunday’s demand for years of broken promises to be made right by fully extending marriage rights.

“Thailand is regarded as a haven for LGBTQ+ people … That’s only half the truth,” Chanun Yodhong, a writer and rep for the opposition Pheu Thai Party, said from the rally stage.

Hundreds were there to hoist rainbow flags and sign a petition calling for legal marriage for all regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation. The rally came two weeks after the Constitution Court