have become particularly common among Dutch couples, with about 18,000 new partnerships registered every year. Same-sex marriage Legislative action As early as the mid-1980s, a group of gay rights activists, headed by Henk Krol – then editor-in-chief of the Gay Krant – asked the government to allow same-sex couples to marry. The States General of the Netherlands decided in 1995 to create a special commission to investigate the possibility of recognizing same-sex marriages. At that time, the Christian Democratic Appeal was not part of the ruling coalition for the first time since the introduction of full democracy. The special commission finished its work in 1997 and concluded that civil marriage should be extended to include same-sex couples. After the 1998 general election, the Second Kok Cabinet promised to tackle the issue. In September 2000, the legislation was debated in the Dutch Parliament. The marriage bill passed the House of Representatives by 109 votes to 33 on 12 September 2000. a. Was originally a member of the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF). b. Was originally a member of the Reformed Political League (GPV). The Senate approved the bill on 19 December 2000 by 49 to 26 votes. Only the Christian parties, which held 26 of the 75 seats at the time, voted against the bill. Although the Christian Democratic Appeal would form the next government, they did not indicate any intention to repeal the law. a. Was originally a member of the Reformed Political League (GPV). b. Was originally a member of the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF). Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands gave her royal assent to the legislation on 21 December 2000. The main article of the law changed article 1:30 of the Civil Code to read as follows: (A marriage can be entered into by two persons of opposing or the same sex) The law came into effect on 1 April 2001, and on that day four same-sex couples were married by the Mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, who became a registrar specifically to officiate at the weddings. A few months earlier, Mayor Cohen had been junior Minister of Justice of the Netherlands and was responsible for putting the new marriage and adoption laws through Parliament. In Dutch, same-sex marriage is known as or commonly (). Requirements and rights Dutch law requires that either partner have Dutch nationality or have residency in the Netherlands. The marriageable age in the Netherlands