Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage on Monday, with LGBT+ groups aiming to mark the occasion with more than 1,000 same-sex weddings in a single day, Reuters reported.
After decades of campaigning by activists, Thailand became the third country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage after Taiwan and Nepal, with a new marriage equality law coming into force on Monday.
Rainbow flags were flown outside the parliament building in Bangkok and shopping malls planned events to mark the implementation of the new law.
More than 200 couples lined up to tie the knot in a mass wedding ceremony at a luxury shopping mall in Bangkok vows, some in white dresses, others in traditional Thai attire, Western suits and ceremonial police uniforms.
LGBT+ groups hope to reach 1,448 marriage registrations on the first day - a symbolic number that refers to the section of the Thai Civil Code where a key amendment replaced the words "husband and wife" with the words "marriage partner".
Organizers, along with related agencies, plan to collect data from ceremonies across the country and submit an application to Guinness World Records to recognize Thailand as the country with the highest number of same-sex marriage registrations in the world in a single day.