Dutch gays are planning a mass wedding April 1 when The Netherlands becomes the first nation in the world to allow gay couples to marry under the regular marriage laws.
Several countries have gay registered-partnership laws that give registered couples nearly all rights of marriage, but The Netherlands is the first nation to grant gays access to plain old marriage itself.
So far, 14 couples have confirmed participation in the event, says Henk Krol, publisher of De Gay Krant magazine and chief organizer of the ceremony.
Couples from other nations—gay or straight—cannot marry in The Netherlands.
Countries with marriage-like gay partnership laws include Denmark (and Greenland), France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and, in the U.S., the state of Vermont. A few other nations, including Canada, grant gays many rights of marriage under common-law marriage statutes.