Two decades ago, four same-sex couples said, "I do," in Amsterdam's city hall. It was the beginning of the marriage equality movement as the Netherlands became the first country in the world to usher in same-sex marriage April 1, 2001.
Since then, more than 18,000 same-sex marriages have been performed in the country. Today, same-sex marriage is legal in 30 countries around the world, according to Freedom to Marry Global, a new group that launched to mark the occasion.
Its predecessor, Freedom to Marry, shut down in early 2016 following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationally. "The freedom to marry has brought joy, security, inclusion, and dignity to loving and committed couples and