The Thai government has responded favourably to a petition calling on it to act on a stalled gay rights bill.
Almost 60,000 people signed a petition on Change.org calling on the Ministry of Justice to take action on a bill that was first introduced to parliament in 2013.
The bill ensures same-sex marriage and equal rights for LGBTI people across the board.
When it was first introduced in late 2013, the bill was put on hold because LGBTI advocates said as it did not address transgender issues and excluded key issues such as parental rights and familial rights.
The director-general of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, Pitikan Sithidej, at the Justice Ministry confirmed she received the petition and would do all he could to get it passed as soon as possible.
Observers suggested the successful campaign in Taiwan to legalize same-sex marriage last week would serve as a catalyst for other countries in the region to act on LGBTI issues. Forbes reported Thailand was highly likely to be the next country to pass marriage equality.
Thailand did introduce a Gender Equality Act in 2015 to protect LGBTI from discrimination based on sexuality and gender.
But many same-sex couples do not have the same rights as heterosexual couples.
