Amsterdam Rings In 25th Anniversary As The First In The World To Perform Same-Sex Weddings
To mark the joyous occasion, three couples tied the knot in Amsterdam on Wednesday in a ceremony conducted by the mayor.
Featured Image: Photo by MARCEL ANTONISSE/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
The Dutch have always been pioneers – from windmill and storm surge technology, to the first modern stock exchange, and thankfully, stroopwafles. They also paved the way for other nations when they became the first to legalize same-sex marriage. And on Wednesday April 1, just after midnight, three Dutch couples took wedding vows – exactly 25 years since the landmark occasion when four queer couples exchanged bands in Amsterdam, setting the bar for the rest of the world.
Since 2001, when then-mayor Job Cohen performed the first ceremony, more than 36,000 same-sex couples have wed in the Netherlands. Current mayor, Femke Halsema, did the same for Wednesday’s brides and grooms.
“As a prime minister, I’m very proud that we celebrate 25 years of universal marriage here in the Netherlands,’’ Prime Minister Rob Jetten told The Associated Press, the primary news agency covering the event. ‘’Also for me personally, I can still remember when I was 14 years old watching TV, seeing the first couples getting married here in Amsterdam. That was also very inspiring and emancipating for me, personally, as it has been for so many others,’’ said the openly gay PM, who is engaged to Nicolás Keenan, an Argentine field hockey Olympian.
Image: Nicolás Keenan and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, announcing their engagement on Instagram in 2024
The happy news is a welcome counterpoint to recent set-backs in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Just months ago, civil rights-minded people let out a collective sigh of relief when the Supreme Court declined to hear Kim Davis’ challenge to marriage equality. Buoyed by forces determined to undermine LGBTQ rights, the former county clerk – who had refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples following the landmark 2015 ruling that made marriage equality legal – was ultimately held liable for her unconstitutional offenses.
Related: Greece Legalizes Same Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage is still not legal in many parts of the world, including China, India, and Russia as well as multiple countries in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. As a result, any movement in that direction is often celebrated as a win – such as the landmark decision in February when the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can be co-owners of property under the country’s Family Code. Last year, Thailand became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, and Liechtenstein did the same.
Same-Sex Couples In The Philippines Can Now Co-Own Property
Today, we join in the jubilant tidings with wishes of happiness to the newlyweds across the pond. Gefeliciteerd met jullie huwelijk!
