AMSTERDAM — A quarter-century after the Netherlands made global history by becoming the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, the Dutch capital kicked off silver anniversary celebrations early Wednesday with a special midnight ceremony at Amsterdam City Hall, where three new same-sex couples exchanged wedding vows officiated by Mayor Femke Halsema.
The moment echoed the landmark 2001 ceremony, when then-Mayor Job Cohen married the world’s first legally recognized same-sex couples. That groundbreaking step 25 years ago blazed a trail for equal marriage legislation that has since been adopted by nearly 40 nations across the globe. Today, same-sex weddings are a fully normalized part of life across the Netherlands: official Dutch statistics show more than 36,000 same-sex couples have tied the knot in the country since 2001.
The anniversary comes as the Netherlands prepares for another milestone for LGBTQ+ representation: Prime Minister Rob Jetten, the nation’s first openly gay head of government, announced he will soon marry his partner Nicolás Keenan, an Argentine field hockey star who claimed bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Speaking to reporters at the overnight Amsterdam celebration, Jetten reflected on how the 2001 legalization shaped his own journey. “As a prime minister, I’m very proud that we celebrate 25 years of universal marriage here in the Netherlands,” he said. “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.”
While the Netherlands led the global push for equal marriage, progress and acceptance have spread unevenly across the world. The United States granted nationwide recognition of same-sex marriage via a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, after years of state-by-state legalization. A 2023 study estimates more than 800,000 same-sex couples are now married across the country.
Amy Quinn, deputy mayor of Asbury Park, New Jersey, and her wife Heather Jensen were among the first same-sex couples to marry in New Jersey when the state legalized same-sex marriage in 2013. For the pair, legal marriage was not just symbolic: when they planned to start a family, their attorney confirmed marriage would grant both partners equal parental rights, allowing both names to appear on their child’s birth certificate, granting hospital visitation access, and enabling both to sign school documents. “It’s shocking to me in terms of really how recently we got it,” Quinn said of the right to marry.
Even as more countries have embraced equal marriage, the past decade has brought growing backlash against LGBTQ+ rights in many regions. In the U.S., advocacy group Human Rights Campaign has tracked bills in at least nine state legislatures that seek to roll back federal recognition of same-sex marriage, most calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 2015 landmark ruling. Though none of these measures have advanced to date, and could not force the high court to reverse its decision, the proposals have sparked concern among LGBTQ+ communities. “I don’t think it’s a time for people to be afraid,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “It’s a time to be aware, to protect our families, to protect our kids and to protect our lives.”
Last week alone brought two new signs of growing anti-LGBTQ+ pushback in the U.S. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth, siding with opponents who argued the ban violated free speech rights and sending the case back to a lower court for re-evaluation. Separately, the Chicago Bulls cut guard Jaden Ivey from the team roster following anti-LGBTQ+ comments he posted to Instagram alongside statements about his religious beliefs.
Across much of the globe, particularly in parts of Asia and Africa, same-sex marriage remains illegal, and a growing number of countries have implemented harsher repressive policies targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Just one day before the Dutch anniversary celebration, Senegal’s president signed a new law that increases criminal penalties for same-sex relations, making it the latest African nation to enact harsh restrictions on LGBTQ+ people.
Even in the Netherlands, which is widely seen as a global leader in LGBTQ+ equality, advocates warn progress has stalled. Philip Tijsma, spokesperson for COC Netherlands, the country’s oldest and largest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, noted that while the 25th anniversary is a moment to celebrate the 2001 milestone, the Netherlands has fallen behind peer nations in advancing new protections for the community. “We have become a little bit lazy,” Tijsma said. He pointed out that many other European countries have enacted far stronger protections for transgender people, and that anti-LGBTQ+ harassment remains common in the Netherlands: LGBTQ+ people still face bullying in schools and verbal or physical harassment for public displays of affection like holding hands on the street.
In the U.S., the backlash has been particularly sharp against transgender rights in recent years. A majority of U.S. states have now barred transgender girls and women from participating in some women’s sports, and restricted access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth. Restrictions on puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgery for minors have also spread to other countries around the world. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have spearheaded many of these policy efforts, pushing aggressively for broad restrictions on rights and protections for transgender people.
Despite these widespread challenges, the mood at Amsterdam’s anniversary celebration remained joyful and hopeful. Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker, one of the four original couples who married in the 2001 landmark ceremony, joined Wednesday’s event to mark their 25 years of marriage. “We’re very happy!” Kasteel said. “It’s unbelievable, 25 years,” added Pasker. “It’s so beautiful that there’s so much attention for it.”
This report features contributions from Corder, reporting from The Hague, Netherlands, and Mulvihill, reporting from Haddonfield, New Jersey.