Fridae

Four gay couples exchanged wedding vows in Amsterdam on Saturday (2200 GMT) under a new Dutch law that recognises their civil marriage that grants them the same rights as heterosexual couple, including the right to adopt children after living together for three years.

While several countries including Sweden and Denmark have allowed gays to register as partners and even adopt children, none of the laws are as comprehensive as the new Dutch legislation as it eliminates legal ambiguities on inheritance, pension rights, taxes and divorce.

Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen officiated at the weddings of three male couples and two women at the stroke of midnight, immediately after the legislation enacted last year went into effect, according to a Washington Post report.

"There are two reasons to rejoice: You are celebrating your marriage and you are also celebrating your right to be married," Mayor Job Cohen told the newlyweds.

The wedding spectacle attended by government ministers, hundreds of media personnel as well as gay rights activists, was aired live on local television and was also broadcast internationally.

Four of the men wore formal suits and bow ties, and one male couple wore leather while both women were dressed in wedding gowns with long trains.

A handful of demonstrators protested against what they called the unnatural union with a sign that read: "Come, let us return to the Lord" while the couples arrived at Amsterdam City Hall.

The legislation passed through both houses of Parliament last year after more than 15 years of campaigning to award gay couples equal rights under civil law. International gay rights groups regard the weddings as a big step forward and predicted it would lead to similar legislation in other countries.

All four couples have cohabited for several years and the women, Anne-Marie Thus and Helene Faasen, have a nine-month-old son, born through artificial insemination.

Pink cake and pink champagne were served at a reception, and then the party moved to several of Amsterdam's gay clubs. "I'm proud to be Dutch," said Dolf Pasker, who married his partner of six years, Gert Kasteel. "This makes it all real." Another of the couples had been living together for 36 years.

The Vatican has vehemently rejected the new law, criticizing its passage last year as a "dangerous" development. In the Netherlands, opposition has been confined to small religious parties, which until a few years ago held crucial positions in ruling coalitions.

The collective marriage ceremony is the brainchild of Henk Krol, editor of the popular monthly magazine Gay Krant, which led the equal rights campaign.

The laws governing matrimony, divorce and adoption have dropped all references to gender and dictionary has been amended to eliminate references to "man and woman" in the definition of marriage.

The law for Dutch nationals or resident foreigners living with a Dutch partner will be eligible for same-sex marriages.

But according to Kees Waaldijk, a family law expert, in a report by the Independent, gay and lesbian couples living elsewhere in the world can go to Amsterdam, announce their wedding while using a temporary address, and then returning six months later to get married.