Thread by @Openly

#OnThisDay in 2001, four same-sex couples🏳️‍🌈tied the knot in Amsterdam's city hall, making history as the Netherlands 🇳🇱 became the first country to legalise gay marriage💒

Gert Kasteel & Dolf Pasker were one of those couples🤵🤵

“I’m very proud that it’s possible,” Gert said.

Before he could complete his sentence, Dolf added, “That we could play a little part of it. We made history.”

20 years after the first legal same-sex weddings in the Netherlands, gay marriage has taken off around the world🎉

Same-sex marriage is now legal in 28 UN member states 🌎

Europe led the way on same-sex marriage, with Belgium legalising it in 2003 🇧🇪

Spain and Canada were neck and neck🏃🏿‍♀️when it came to same-sex marriage legislation.

Canada's parliament passed a bill two days before Spain's in June 2005, but the law came into effect in Spain sooner 🥂

South Africa legalised same-sex marriage in 2006 and is still the only African country to have done so 🇿🇦

Argentina was the first Latin American country to allow same-sex weddings in 2010 🇦🇷

Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriages in 2019 🇹🇼

In May 2020, Costa Rica became the first country in Central America to let same-sex couples marry 🇨🇷

Almost a third of adults globally think gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry, according to a 2016 @ILGAWORLD survey of almost 100,000 people in 65 countries💒

So where do things stand in the Netherlands 20 years on?

There are now 20,000 married same-sex couples in the country👭🏽👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼

In fact, gay and lesbian couples represent 1.7% of all couples who have married in the Netherlands in the last two decades 💍

Do you have any memories of same-sex marriages that you’d like to share?🏳️‍🌈

If so, reply below👇