World

Dutch Legalize Gay Marriages

September 12, 2000 / 1:10 PM EDT / AP

The Netherlands, long in the vanguard on gay rights, enacted a bill converting the country's "registered same-sex partnerships" into full-fledged marriages, complete with divorce guidelines and wider adoption rights for gays.

Proponents say the legislation will give Dutch gays rights beyond those offered in any other country.

Lawmakers thumped their desks in approval when the vote passed 107-33, and some of the scores of witnesses in the packed public gallery applauded and embraced.

Parliament had discussed the bill last week, when only a few small Christian parties voiced opposition during an emotional and often heated three-day debate. It gained speedy approval Tuesday.

"I'm very happy. What happened today represents changes in our society," said Mark Wagenbuur, 34. He said he and his partner, who came with him to watch the vote, will now formally wed, but their immediate problem is "we don't know who should ask whom."

In Norway and Sweden, gay couples can already register their partnerships and Denmark has gone a step further. It was the first country to allow gay marriages in 1989. Two years ago, the Netherlands enacted a law allowing same-sex couples to register as partners and to claim pensions, social security and inheritance.

But the new Dutch legislation goes farther, creating full equality for gays, activists said.

Same-sex couples will be able to marry at city hall and adopt Dutch children. They will be able to divorce through the court system, like heterosexual couples.

Boris Dittrich, a member of the centrist Democrats 66 party and a proponent of the plan, said the law "acknowledges that a person's sex is not of importance for marriage." He spoke during what he called "the most moving debate" of his parliamentary career.

"We will be able to call it what it is and that's marriage," said Henk Krol, an activist and editor-in-chief of the Gay Krant magazine. He said the vote "will be an absolute first in the world."

The law is expected to take effect early next year. Krol said he plans to convert his own partnership status to marriage as soon as it does.

Displaying unusual solidarity, all three parliamentary factions in the governing coalition the left-of-center Labor Party, the Liberal VVD and the smaller Democrats 66 backed the proposal. Even a few members of the biggest opposition party, the largely traditional Christian Democratic Alliance, or CDA, have expressed support.

The plan hasn't been recognized by the dominant Protestant or Roman Catholic churches, but a few breakaway churches have sent encouraging letters to legislators.

The Remonstrant Brethren, which broke from the Protestant church in 1619, was one step ahead of the Dutch parliament, having accepted gay marriages in 1986. The Remonstrants and a group called the Old Catholic Church are the best-known supporters of gay rights here.

While gays will enjoy new liberties in th Netherlands, they may run into trouble when they travel in countries where homosexuality remains illegal. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has proposed offering legal assistance to Dutch citizens in such cases.

Some opponents fear the unique position of gays could isolate the Dutch and set the Netherlands apart.

The bill will create "a world without foundations ... where the historical understanding of marriage is torn from its roots," said Kees van der Straaij of the Reformed Political Party.