Amsterdam mayor marries 3 couples on 25th anniversary of world's 1st same-sex weddings
Mayor Femke Halsema married three same-sex couples at Amsterdam City Hall shortly after midnight on Wednesday. The late-night wedding ceremony celebrated the fact that exactly 25 years ago, the first same-sex marriages in the world were officiated in the Dutch capital. Prime Minister Rob Jetten also attended the ceremony.
On April 1, 2001, four couples got married just after midnight. They exchanged vows in front of then-Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen. The event made international news. Since then, over 36,000 same-sex couples have gotten married in the Netherlands. An increasing number of countries have also legalized marriage for same-sex couples.
Afterward, Halsema said that officiating these weddings was one of the most special moments she has experienced as mayor. On social media, she quoted her predecessor Cohen, who also attended the weddings on Wednesday and said to the couples 25 years ago: “Soon you will be able to say ‘we are married,’ and that sounds a lot better than saying ‘we are partnershiped.’” Halsema called these words historic.
The three couples got married in the presence of Prime Minister Rob Jetten. He is the first openly gay Prime Minister of the Netherlands and has wedding plans himself. Jetten called it an honor to be allowed to attend. The Prime Minister wished the couples - Rebecca and Sytske, Nico and Vital, and Eelke and Elton - a very happy marriage.
On X, the Prime Minister also honored the 25th anniversary of the first same-sex marriages. “Thanks to the couples who preceded me back then, as a 14-year-old teenager, I saw confirmation of what I still doubted inwardly: I belong, just like everyone else. In my view, that equality, even now after 25 years, is the most important aspect of universal marriage.”
According to LGBTQ+ rights organization ILGA, there are currently 37 countries that allow same-sex marriage. Homosexuality is punishable by law in nearly twice as many countries, and in some countries, a same-sex relationship can even lead to the death penalty.
