User:Robster1983/Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands



Same-sex marriage (Huwelijk tussen personen van gelijk geslacht) has been legal in the Netherlands since 1 April 2001. The Netherlands was the first country to legalize same-sex marriage.

Legislative action
As early as the mid-eighties, a group of gay rights activists, headed by Henk Krol – 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 (Christian Democratic Appeal) were not part of the ruling coalition for the first time since the introduction of full democracy. The special commission finished its work in 1997 and concluded that civil marriage should be extended to include same-sex couples. After the election of 1998, the government promised to tackle the issue. In September 2000 the final legislation draft was debated in the Dutch Parliament.

The marriage bill passed the House of Representatives by 109 votes to 33. The Senate approved the bill on 19 December 2000. Only the Christian parties, which held 26 of the 75 seats at the time, voted against the bill. Though, after 2006, the Christian Democratic Appeal Party became the largest party in the coalition, it did not indicate any intention to repeal the law.

The main article in the Act changed article 1:30 in the marriage law to read as follows:


 * 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)

The law came into effect on 1 April 2001, and on that day four same-sex couples (Mr Peter Lemke and Mr Frank Wittebrood, Mr Tom Jansen and Mr Louis Rogmans, Ms Helene Faasen and Ms Anne Marie Thus, Mr Dolf Pasker and Mr. Geert Kasteel) were married by the Mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, specifically became a registrar to officiate at the weddings. A few months earlier, Mayor Cohen had been junior Minister of Justice of the Netherlands and was responsible for putting the new marriage and adoption laws through parliament.

Requirements and rights
Dutch law requires either partner must have Dutch nationality or to reside in the Netherlands. The marriageable age in the Netherlands is 18, or below 18 with parental consent. The law is only valid in the European territory of the Netherlands and does not apply to the constituent countriesof the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The single legal difference between same-sex marriages and heterosexual marriages is parentage by both partners is not automatic. The legal mother of a child is its biological mother (article 1:198 of the civil law) and the father is (in principle) the man she is married to when the child is born. Moreover, the father must be a man (article 1:199). The other partner may thus become a legal mother only through adoption. Only in the case when a biological father does not become a parent (e.g. in case of sperm donation), both female spouses obtain parental authority automatically (article 1:253sa).

Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten
In Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten , separate civil codes exist in which rules for marriage are laid down and it is not possible to perform a same-sex marriage in these constituent countries.

All territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean recognise same-sex marriages performed in the European territory of the Netherlands as a result of a Dutch Supreme Court ruling. The Supreme Court ruled that that all vital records recorded in the Kingdom of the Netherlands were valid throughout the Netherlands; this was based on its interpretation of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, subsequent rulings have established that same-sex marriages are not automatically entitled to the same privileges (e.g. social security) extended to married couples of the opposite sex.

Caribbean Netherlands
On Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, marriage is presently restricted to heterosexual couples, but a law enabling also same-sex couples to marry has already been passed and is planned to come into effect by 10 October 2012. The change was proposed by Dutch House of Representatives rather than the government itself (which preferred to negotiate the change with the islands first). The issue is very controversial on the islands, both because many oppose the principle of the law and because of the perceived "neocolonialism" of the Netherlands imposing such a law on its overseas municipalities.

Same-sex marriages and registered partnership performed elsewhere, have a legal status on the islands. To ensure same-sex couples enjoy similar rights, the provisions of the Dutch civil code (rather than the civil code for the Caribbean Netherlands) applied for marriages performed outside the islands from 1 January, 2011.

Opposition
Fundamentalist preachers (e.g. Khalil el-Moumni) and religious groups opposed the recognition of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands. After the Dutch parliament legalized same-sex marriage the Protestant Church in the Netherlands permitted individual congregations to decide whether or not to bless such relationships as a union of love and faith before God, and in practice many churches now conduct such ceremonies.

Local governments are obliged to perform civil same-sex marriages, and they can require their personnel to conduct marriages for same-sex couples; however, if their existing contract did not state this requirement, they cannot be fired over a refusal.

Some local councils choose not to require registrars who object to same-sex marriage to perform ceremonies. Though this is usually a decision made by Christian political parties, it can be said that it would not benefit a same-sex couple if the official performing the ceremony was unhappy doing so, potentially ruining the occasion.

In 2007, controversy arose when the new government (Fourth Balkenende cabinet) announced in its policy statement that officials who object to same-sex marriage on principle may refuse to marry such couples. Some Socialist and Liberal dominated municipal councils opposed this policy, claiming that the job of a registrar is to marry all couples, regardless of gender. The opposition parties stated that if a registrar opposed same-sex marriages, he or she should not hold that post. The municipality of Amsterdam announced that they would not comply with this policy, and that registrars there would still be obliged to marry same-sex couples. In reaction to this, many other municipalities announced their rejection of this proposal as well. The Balkenende government claimed that this issue lay solely within the remit of the central government. In practice, municipalities decide whether or not to hire registrars who object to marrying same-sex couples.

Statistics
According to provisional figures from Statistics Netherlands, for the first six months, same-sex marriages made up 3.6% of the total number of marriages: a peak of around 6% in the first month followed by around 3% in the remaining months: about 2,100 men and 1,700 women in total. By June 2004, more than 6,000 same-sex marriages had been performed in the Netherlands.

In March 2006, Statistics Netherlands released estimates on the number of same-sex marriages performed in each year: 2,500 in 2001, 1,800 in 2002, 1,200 in 2004, and 1,100 in 2005.

Name of same-sex marriage
In the Netherlands, there are several ways to refer to same-sex marriage. Since marriage was 'opened' for anyone, thus creating no difference between a homosexual marriage and a heterosexual marriage, it is referred as "huwelijk" (marriage) by the Dutch government. If referring specifically to same-sex marriage, the offical and politically correct term is "huwelijk tussen personen van gelijk geslacht" (marriage between people of the same gender). Colloquially, however, it is referred to as "homohuwelijk" (gay marriage), making no distinction between a marriage between two men or two women.

Registered partnership
On 1 January 1998, registered partnerships (geregistreerd partnerschap) were introduced in Dutch law. The partnerships 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. In 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.