Homosexual marriage

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by inked

Told ya this would happen! Is it a homosexual marriage, a bisexual marriage, a menage a trois legalized, a shack-up with legal protections, or what?

Um... Inked, did you read the whole article through?

Originally Posted by article

As the notary validated a samenlevingscontract, or "cohabitation contract," the three exchanged rings, held a wedding feast, and departed for their honeymoon.

While they exchanged rings and such and virtually turned it into a wedding party, those things normally are not part of a samenlevingscontract. The rings and the honeymoon are meaningless in relation to the contract. It is just their personal way of celebrating it.

This is NOT a marriage, despite the look they gave it. And as the article states, this event has neither bearing or importance on the debate about homosexual marriage.

Samenlevingscontracten exist already far longer than the laws on homosexual marriage. They are not a new matter, nor are they linked to the law on homosexual marriage.

A legal marriage has to be arranged by the mayor of the town where you marry, a samenlevingscontract only by a notary. That already should give an indication of the difference.

(Although, until this article I was under the impression that samenlevingscontracten also were limited to two members. Maybe that's a difference between the Netherlands and Belgium. But regardless of that the article isn't clear on whether all three have signed the contract or only the two married ones.)