The article talks about how the women were horrified at the reaction, but it also admits that the women filed the lawsuit. Interesting stuff.
When two women tried to register as a married couple in Aruba last year, people on this Dutch island threw rocks at them, slashed their car tires and protested against gay unions outside Parliament.
The hostility eventually led Charlene and Esther Oduber-Lamers to flee the Caribbean territory, which refused to recognize their marriage even though the couple legally wed in the Netherlands four years ago. . .
The strong emotions ignited by their legal fight seeking to force Aruba's government to recognize their marriage has underlined a deep cultural rift between liberal Holland and its conservative former colony.
"If we accept gay marriage, would we next have to accept Holland's marijuana bars and euthanasia?" government spokesman Ruben Trapenberg said. "They have their culture, we have ours."
After the Public Registry rejected the Oduber-Lamers' marriage certificate, they filed a lawsuit charging Aruba's government with discrimination. An island court ruled their union should be recognized.
The government appealed, and a ruling is expected tomorrow [TDE Note: See below]. Authorities vow to pursue the matter to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands if necessary, arguing that the idea of gay marriage strikes at the very heart of Aruban life.
Aruba, just off the Venezuela's northern coast, was once a Dutch colony but is now an autonomous republic within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Dutch law requires the kingdom's three parts – the Netherlands, Aruba and the Dutch Antilles – to recognize each other's legal documents, including marriage certificates. But Aruba's government contends the law also grants the island self-rule – and thus it should be permitted to ignore same-sex marriages from the Netherlands, which legalized such unions in 2001.
"We can't let this become a precedent," said Hendrik Croes, a lawyer for Aruba's government. "Gay marriage is against the civil code and Aruban morals."
Despite strong ties to the Netherlands, which is one of Europe's most liberal nations in social mores, Aruba is more culturally in tune with Latin America.
While Dutch is the island's official language, most Arubans speak Papiamento, a mix of Spanish and Portuguese. More than 80 percent of the island's 97,000 people are Roman Catholic, and the largest number of immigrants come from Venezuela and Colombia.
Link.
Note: The ruling was expected yesterday, but we haven't found it yet. When we do, we'll post it here. If you see it, please send us an e-mail (see e-mail box on right).
A lesbian couple has the right to register their marriage in Aruba, a court ruled Tuesday, rejecting a government appeal in a case that has exposed a cultural rift between Holland and its former colony. . .
The Aruban government now has three months to take the case to Holland's Supreme Court, which it has promised to do.
Link.
