| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
| Same-sex marriage |
| Performed nationwide in: |
| Belgium |
| Netherlands |
| Performed in some regions in: |
| Canada: BC, MB, NS, ON, QC, SK, YT |
| United States: MA |
| Articles on other countries and regions: |
| Australia |
| Canada: AB, NB, NL, NT, NU, PE |
| France |
| Ireland |
| Romania |
| South Africa |
| Spain |
| United States: CA |
| See also |
| Civil union |
| Domestic partnership |
| Edit this box |
On January 1, 1998 registered partnerships ( Dutch: geregistreerd partnerschap) were introduced in law in the Netherlands. These were meant for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage, though they can also be entered into by opposite-sex couples, and in fact about one third of the registered partnerships between 1998 and 2001 were of opposite-sex couples. For the law, registered partnerships and marriage convey the same rights and duties, especially after some laws were changed to remedy inequalities with respect to inheritance and some other issues.
Through the Act on the Opening up of Marriage, marriage itself was opened to same-sex couples on April 1, 2001; as well as adoption within the Netherlands (see below for more information on adoption).
As early as the mid-eighties, a group of gay activists, headed by Henk Krol - currently the editor-in-chief of the Gay Krant - asked the government to allow same sex couples to marry. Parliament decided in 1995 to create a special commission, which was to investigate the possibility of same-sex marriages. At that moment the Christian Democrats for the first time since the introduction of full democracy weren't part of the ruling coalition. The special commission finished its work in 1997 and concluded that civil marriage should be opened up. After the elections of 1998, the government promised to tackle the issue. In September 2000 the final legislation drafted was debated in parliament.
The marriage bill obtained a majority of 109 against 33 votes in the Lower House of Parliament. The Upper HouseThe Eerste Kamer (literally First Chamber in Dutch) is the Upper House or Senate of the Netherlands parliament, the States-General. It was established in 1815 when the Netherlands and Belgium emerged as a single state at the end of the Napoleonic wars and approved the bill on December 19December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 12 days remaining. Events 1732 Benjamin Franklin publishes Poor Richard's Almanack 1777 George Washington's army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge,, 2000. Only the Christian parties, which held 26 of the 75 seats at that time, voted against the bill. Though the major party in the present (2004) ruling coalition, the Christian Democrats haven't shown the slightest inclination toward an attempt to revert the law.
The main article in the Act changed article 1:30 in the existing marriage law (in the Civil Code) into:
Een huwelijk kan worden aangegaan door twee personen van verschillend of van gelijk geslacht.
(A marriage can be contracted by two people of different or the same sex)
At the stroke of midnight April 1, 2001, four same-sex couples were married by the Mayor of AmsterdamMunicipality of Amsterdam St Andrew's crosses are taken to represent these (though the crosses are even older than the motto). A popular tradition links the X's to the three threats to the city: Water, Fire and Pestilence. Alternate meanings: See Amsterda, Job Cohen . He specially became a registrar to officiate the weddings. A few months before, Mayor Cohen was the junior minister of Justice in the Government and responsible for putting the new marriage and adoption laws through parliament.