Exchanging vows
WILLEMSTAD--The period between the relevant High Court ruling on July 12, and Curaçao’s first marriage between two people of the same sex on Saturday kept a section of society busy. Supporters and opponents, whether or not from religious backgrounds, bombarded each other with arguments via (social) media, or cursed to their heart's content.
Dressed in black.
Member of Parliament Rennox Calmes of “Trabou pa Kòrsou” (TPK), the one-man opposition faction, called on pastors from evangelical churches, among others, for a meeting earlier this week. He aims to amend the Constitution in order to be able to prohibit so-called gay marriage because it is not in line with the customs and culture of Curaçao, but his proposal has been postponed due to the many advice- and other procedures that must be followed.
Calmes declared July 27 a day of national mourning on his own initiative and called on supporters to wear black. However, no permit was requested for an official demonstration at the “Kranshi” civil registry.
In the end, only two men dressed in black stood separately in front of the closed gate to show their disapproval.
The female couple had consciously chosen to keep their wedding private, partly because of the reactions of the past few weeks. In the meantime, another eight local same-sex couples have gotten engaged.
