The political battle for gay rights has been won, according to Henk Krol, editor of gay newspaper Gay Krant in free paper Spits on Thursday.

‘We have fought for equal rights before the law and won them,’ the paper quoted Krol as saying. ‘We can get married. The days of storming parliament are far behind us.’
However, this does not mean the gay rights movement can be broken up, Krol said. ‘The emphasis is no longer on equal rights… The movement must focus on social questions such as anti-gay violence and raising the acceptance of homosexuality within certain circles.’
Several months ago, the Gay Krant set up a hotline for gay people to report incidents of violence and bullying. So far, 200 cases have been reported.
According to research by the government’s socio-cultural planning office last year, just 9% of the Dutch population still have ‘serious objections’ to homosexuality, down from 15% in 2006.
Anti-gay sentiment is particularly prevalent in fundamentalist religious groups.
Nevertheless, one in five people don’t think gay people should be allowed to adopt children and one in 10 thinks same sex marriage should be abolished. Some 40% of the population feel uncomfortable if they see two men kiss in the street.
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Gays want real rights