Three same-sex couples were married in Amsterdam’s city hall by Mayor Femke Halsema. Shortly after midnight, the couples Rebecca and Sytske, Nico and Vital and Eelke and Elton tied the knot. The nightly wedding ceremony celebrated the fact that exactly 25 years ago the first same-sex couples got married.
On April 1, 2001, four couples got married just after midnight, in front of then mayor Job Cohen. That event was world news. Since then, more than 36,000 same-sex couples have married in the Netherlands. More and more countries also legalized marriage for gay couples.
Prime Minister Rob Jetten was at the wedding ceremony. He is the first openly gay Prime Minister of the Netherlands and also has plans to marry. Jetten said it was an honor to be present and wished the couples a very happy marriage.
The Prime Minister wrote on
Halsema indicated that he thought it was one of the most special moments as mayor to marry the three couples. On social media she quoted her predecessor Cohen, who was also present and said to the couples 25 years ago: “Soon you can say ‘we are married’ and that sounds a lot better than saying ‘we are partnered’.” According to Halsema, these were historical words.
According to LGBTQ+ rights organization ILGA, there are now 37 countries that allow marriage. In almost twice as many countries, homosexuality is a criminal offense and in some countries a same-sex relationship can even lead to the death penalty.
