Dutch Crown Princess To Attend Gay Rights Conference

Admittedly, the Netherlands has been in the forefront of nations granting equal rights to members of their LGBT citizenry, but I nonetheless find it great that a member of European royalty is going to formally attend an LGBT rights conference. Moreover, Princess Maxima (pictured at left) will also be signing an accord calling for the full acceptance of gays in The Netherlands. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/02/022808neth.htm):

(Amsterdam, Netherlands) The future Queen of The Netherlands will attend an LGBT rights conference organized by the Dutch Gay Federation (COC), becoming the first royal in the world to personally appear at such a session. Princess Maxima will address the conference, to be held in four major cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

The conference will discuss the exclusion of gays in society. A royal spokesperson said that the princess will sign an accord at the end of the conference calling for the full acceptance of gays in The Netherlands. "The Princess is in favor of equal rights of all groups in the Netherlands," the spokesperson said. "It is the first time a member of the royal family has attended a meeting with such significance for gays." While it is the first time a member of the Royal Family has personally attended a gay rights event Queen Beatrix has spoken out a number of times in support of LGBT rights.

The Netherlands was the world's first country to legalize same-sex marriage and LGBT civil rights but many gays still feel they are not fully part of the political process. In addition there have been growing instances of homophobic attacks in the country.