02:57

I got a message from my friend Mark, in Tulsa. He wrote to tell me that his fellow Oklahomans have passed, by 80%, a Constitutional amendment which forbids two human beings who are of the same gender to marry each other. In the same election, Oklahomans extended their rights to game, race horses and have a state lottery. Do those results appear just a little hypocritical to anyone else?

Oklahoma wasn't alone. In total, eleven states voted Tuesday on whether they should use their Constitution to protect themselves from the "threat" of people marrying others of the same gender. (Never mind that in these 11 states it was already against the law.) The people have spoken and the results are in. In all eleven states that voted, not only is it still illegal for gay citizens to marry each other, it's also now unconstitutional.

Ian, who teaches private international law here, doesn't understand our American system. "How," he asks, "can a Constitution, which was created to protect the rights of a minority from the majority, be voted on by the majority to take rights of a minority away?"

Although I'm a lawyer and have also taught law, I don't have an answer for him. All I know is that it's 2:57 in the morning and, as I unconsciously twist the engagement ring he gave me back and forth on my finger, I'm unable to sleep.

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Yolanda and Burak's Wedding

When we let people know we're getting married, the general response is, "I've never been to a gay wedding before." Our reply is, "Neither have we."

Still, we have been to two weddings together since I've been here. Both were on the same day. The one in the morning was here in Utrecht, a traditional church wedding for a colleague of Ian's. The couple had already celebrated their civil wedding a couple of days earlier.

Yoland and Burak's wedding, the one we went to later that evening, was in Belgium. We went to the party, not the wedding. The weddding also took place earlier.




We got on our bikes in Utrecht after the church wedding,




and biked to the train station in utrecht.




We left our bikes in the station along with the thousands already there, then boarded the train.




Once we got to the station in Belium, we were met by a friend of Yolanda's family and were transported to the castle, where the party took place.




This is the front yard. The owners of the castle rent the castle and grounds out to pay for their living expenses. A title and money apparently don't always go hand in hand these days. There was a guest house on the estate where the family stayed during the party. Althogh we saw paintings in the castle of their ancestors, we didn't meet the owners.


Castle Windows





The back yard was also spectacular.







Several rooms on the inside were filled with tables, where we ate. This is Yolanda, the bride.


Alberto

Alberto was at our table, along with housemates Ian and Yolanda shared here in Utrecht during Ian's erasmus year several years ago. The wedding took place during the Olympics, so several at the table tried on headbands of ivy in honor of their countries' successes. (Yes, drinks were available.)

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