> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thedailyeudemon.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ramming Gay Marriage Everywhere - URL: https://thedailyeudemon.com/2135/ - Published: 2005-08-24T11:30:55.000Z - Updated: 2005-08-24T11:30:55.000Z - Author: Eric Scheske - Tags: Current Affairs, Politics, #wpChunk 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](http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002447982%5Faruba22.html?ref=thedailyeudemon.com). 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](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050824/ap%5Fon%5Fre%5Fla%5Fam%5Fca/aruba%5Fgay%5Fmarriage%5F1&ref=thedailyeudemon.com).