By Christopher Cappiello

Fifth Anniversary of Dutch Gay Marriage

April 1 marked the five-year anniversary of the first gay marriages in the Netherlands. On the historic day in 2001, Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen married three gay male couples and one lesbian couple.

"If I had known that the marriage would attract such an enormous amount of attention, I would never have agreed to be the first to marry," Anne Marie Thus, one of the first lesbians to marry, told Radio Netherlands. "When we arrived from our hotel and found this huge number of satellite vans from the international media, I was really shocked ... it was overwhelming, but also beautiful: The city hall was decorated with roses and Mayor Job Cohen gave a lovely speech."

After five years, statistics show that the number of gay couples seeking to marry in the Netherlands has leveled off at about 1,200 per year, half the number that married in the first year. According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, same-sex couples are less likely to marry than heterosexual couples, but the divorce rate is essentially the same. Radio Netherlands also reports that lesbian couples are more likely to divorce than gay male couples.

After five years, activists are still working to change the Dutch law to allow same-sex couples to adopt children together. "Only one of the two can do this individually," Thus told Radio Netherlands. Since marrying, she has given birth to two children from a donor father. "My wife does not have the same rights as the father, who can confirm the child as his at the city hall."

Belgium became the second country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2002. Last year Spain and Canada passed similar laws, and a South African court decision last year called on the legislature to enact same-sex marriage laws by December 2006.

St. Maarten Police Slow to Respond to Gay Bashing

Gay rights advocates are criticizing the St. Maarten police for a sluggish and indifferent response to the gay bashing of two American journalists vacationing on the Caribbean island.

In the early morning hours of April 6, 25-year-old Ryan Smith, a researcher for CBS News, was attacked in the parking lot outside a bar in Phillipsburg, a city on the Dutch side of the island shared by France and the Netherlands. Smith's colleague, Dick Jefferson, 51, approached as the attack was underway, and was

subsequently knocked unconscious with a four-pronged tire wrench, according to ABC News. The alleged attackers had heckled Smith and his boyfriend, Justin Swenson, with gay slurs earlier in the evening before being thrown out of the bar.

Smith and Jefferson were both airlifted to Miami hospitals with serious head injuries. As IN goes to press, Smith remains hospitalized and unable to speak.

"The police response has been no police response," Jefferson told ABC News. "The police were totally indifferent to the situation, the crime, or the seriousness of it."

"A failure to conduct a full and complete investigation to apprehend a hate-crime perpetrator not only allows prejudice to fester, but keeps citizens and tourists at risk," Joe Solmonese, president of Human Rights Campaign, said in a letter to the Dutch ambassador to the United States.

LGBT Victories in Italian Election

In the heavily contested Italian elections of April 10-11, five LGBT candidates won seats in Parliament, including Vladimir Luxuria, believed to be the first transgender member of a European parliament.

"We are happy to see a transgender person being elected as Italian parliamentarian," said Riccardo Gattardi,co-chair of the board of ILGA Europe, a gay rights organization, in an official statement. "This is a very important victory not just for Italy, but for all Europe. This is also a sign that the European electorate is becoming more open minded and embracing the diversity of human kind."

Luxuria, a popular cabaret performer who organized the first gay pride march in Italy in 1994, was elected to represent a district in Rome not far from the Vatican. Among the other victorious candidates were two gay men, a lesbian, and a bisexual man.

Although center-left candidate Romano Prodi was declared the winner by a razor-thin margin, incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is contesting thousands of ballots and the ultimate outcome will likely be determined in court. The colorful Berlusconi, one of Italy's wealthiest citizens, is firmly opposed to recognition of same-sex couples. Prodi has indicated support for civil unions, and gay activists see his election as a major step forward.

"We hope the newly elected Italian politicians will fulfill their pre-election promises and will introduce Italy into a family of European nations legally recognizing same-sex families as well as introduce further legislation to guarantee equal rights for LGBT people," Gattardi said in a press release.

UK Pol Not Ashamed of Naked Pic

A London borough councilmember said the naked photo posted on his profile on a gay dating Web site did not embarrass him. Links to his profile were anonymously circulated to a number of London newspapers the week of April 7, a little more than a month before he faces re-election.

"I'm a gay man and I'm not ashamed about that," said Liberal Democrat Charles Anglin after the South London Press made his Web site profile public. "I've always been open about my sexuality."

The photo, of a naked Anglin cupping his genitals, was removed from the site after the initial reports.

Anglin's party has faced its share of gay-related scandals recently, with former Home Affairs Spokesman Mark Oaten resigning last year after the married politician admitted to having an affair with a male prostitute. More recently, leadership candidate Simon Hughes was dogged by questions about his sexuality before finally admitting to having had gay relationships.

Anglin says his situation is different. "There is an issue about politicians or anyone in public life behaving hypocritically, but I'm an openly gay man ... there was never any secret to that," he told The Voice newspaper.