let's go dutch

An article in today's Washington Post notes that:

While the United States fiercely debates the issue of allowing same-sex marriage, marriage for gay men and lesbians in the Netherlands has become so commonplace that today, two years after being legalized, it is hardly recognized as different....

[M]arriage registry records show that 7 percent to 8 percent of marriages in the country are between gay men or lesbian partners. "It's going smoothly," [Henk Krol, editor of Gay Krant (Gay Courier) magazine] said. "Once people are used to it, there's no problem whatsoever. It's not an issue anymore. As long as you don't have it, it's an issue."...

To Dutch same-sex couples, the fierce opposition in the United States seems misplaced. "It's sad," said Hans Blommaert, 38, a fashion editor of a men's magazine who was celebrating his two-month wedding anniversary with his husband, Michel Ferreira, 25, a university student. "It doesn't make my opinion of America any better."