Thai LGBTQ+ couples register marriages as law gives them equal status

Pisit Sirihirunchai, left, and Chanatip Sirihirunchai from the LGBTQ+ community show their marriage certificates after the Marriage Equality Act took effect in Bangkok, Thailand (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand made Thursday a life-changing occasion, registering their marriages legally on the first day a law took effect granting them the same rights as heterosexual couples.

The enactment of the Marriage Equality Act makes Thailand the first country in South East Asia and the third place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, after Taiwan and Nepal.