All Thai men at the age of 20 are required by law to register to serve. Recruits
are selected through a lottery system, but each year thousands of LGBT draftees
are rejected.
Wednesday the military announced that it was removing homosexuality and
transgenderism from its list of mental disorders following years of complaints
from the LGBT community that the ban was discriminatory.
The military said that the change was part of a program to keep up with a
changing society.
"The existing conscription law has been promulgated since 1954, when there were
few homosexuals and transvestites, but society is changing very fast, so the
army is in the process of amending the law and omitting those words from the
certificate," said Lt. Gen. Arthorn Lohitkul, director general of the Army
Reserve Command.
The campaign to amend the requirements for conscription was launched by LGBT
civil activist Natee Theerarojnaphong.
"No employer wants to hire anyone with a record of mental disorder to work in
his company," Natee said, adding that people with mental disorders are also
unable to make certain legal agreements.
A celebrity Thai-style kickboxer who underwent surgery to become a woman,
Parinya Charoenphol, complained on local television after being exempt from the
military.
"The words 'mental disorder' marked on the certificate seriously affects our
lives," said Parinya. Thailand is a Buddhist country where homosexuals,
transvestites and transsexuals are largely tolerated. Gay and transvestite
actors play key roles in Thai movies and television soap operas.
The change was hailed in the US by gays fighting for inclusion in the military.
"Neither sexual orientation nor gender identity has any impact on a service
member's ability to get the job done," Steve Ralls, a spokesperson for the
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network told 365Gay.com
"The United States armed forces should follow the Thai military's example and
place qualification above prejudice. Our armed forces should end to the
military's unfair discrimination against lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender
military personnel."
A bill is pending in Congress to repeal the military's ban and allow lesbian
and gay Americans the opportunity to serve openly.
A study done by the Government Accountability Office shows that more than
10,000 service members have been discharged over the last 10 years under "don't
ask, don't tell".
