The world's first gay marriages occurred 25 years ago when one of Halsema's predecessors, Job Cohen, married four couples in a landmark ceremony for LGBTQ+ rights. These marriages paved the way for similar legislation in nearly 40 countries around the world, and same-sex weddings are now commonplace in the Netherlands. Since 2001, more than 36,000 same-sex couples have married in the Netherlands, according to the country's official statistics office. Prime Minister Rob Jetten, the country's first openly gay leader, is planning to soon marry his partner Nicolás Keenan, an Argentine field hockey star who won a bronze medal with his country’s team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the United States, the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, after many states had already done so. One study last year estimated that there are more than 800,000 same-sex married couples in the U.S. Amy Quinn and her wife, Heather Jensen, were among the first to be married in New Jersey when it became recognized there in 2013, and Quinn is the deputy mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey. However, the U.S.-based LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign has identified legislation in at least nine U.S. states for current or recent sessions seeking to undo legal recognition of same-sex marriages. Most of the identified legislation would call on the U.S. Supreme Court to undo its 2015 decision recognizing same-sex marriages, but the measures have not advanced, and even if they did, they couldn’t force the court to change course.
As a prime minister, I’m very proud that we celebrate 25 years of universal marriage here in the Netherlands.
Globally, large parts of the world — particularly in Asia and Africa — have not legalized same-sex marriage and some countries are becoming more repressive. Senegal’s president signed a law Monday that toughens punishment for homosexuality in the latest African country to impose harsh penalties against the LGBTQ+ community.
Also for me personally, I can still remember when I was 14 years old watching TV, seeing the first couples getting married here in Amsterdam. That was also very inspiring and emancipating for me, personally, as it has been for so many others.