Same-sex marriage in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten their respective countries. After an amendment, giving cohabiting couples (including same-sex couples) some limited rights, was proposed to the Estates of Curaçao in 2017, former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte suggested that a referendum on the legalisation of same-sex marriage be held on the island. Same-sex marriage in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten Same-sex marriages are not performed in Aruba, Curaçao, or Sint Maarten, which are constituent countries () of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The islands were, however, obliged after several court rulings to register any marriage (including same-sex marriages) registered in the Kingdom, but they don't have to give
Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands status of unregistered partnership is respected by Dutch courts. On 1 January 1998, registered partnerships () were introduced in Dutch law. The partnerships were meant for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage, though they can also be entered into by opposite-sex couples, and in fact about one third of the registered partnerships between 1998 and 2001 were of opposite-sex couples. In law, registered partnerships and marriage convey the same rights and duties, especially after some laws were changed to remedy inequalities with respect to inheritance and some other issues. As early as the mid-1980s, a group of gay rights