I'm probably biased because my family's from Holland and all. But man, I love the Dutch! I mean, aside from the obvious reasons like good chocolate and even better cheese, there's this:
The Netherlands has told its ambassadors in countries receiving foreign aid they must lobby those nations to decriminalize homosexuality and provide LGBT civil rights. The announcement was made in the Netherlands' Parliament by Development Minister Bert Koenders.
Koenders told Parliament that a study by the government found that homosexuality is illegal in 18 of the 36 countries to whom the country provides financial aid. "The Netherlands will promote as much equal treatment of homosexuals as possible. We will not avoid awkward discussions about this," he said in a statement to lawmakers.
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Serena, that is so cool about Holland. In general, the EU is far ahead of the US in terms of supporting LGBT civil rights. Seriously, I think most Americans don’t realize how far behind their country is slipping in this regard. I was raised to believe that America was the beacon of human rights and liberty in the world, but when I moved to Ireland in 2004 I was shocked to discover how much more progressive the EU is than my homeland.