Following a
brutal attack this weekend on a gay couple, two male lawmakers showed up to
a government meeting holding hands yesterday.
Jasper
Vernes-Sewratan and his husband Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes were attacked Saturday
night in the small Dutch town of Arnhem while walking home from a date and holding
hands. They say that the attackers – a group of six to eight teenage boys –
shouted anti-gay invective at them. Both suffered injuries and Ronnie had
several teeth knocked out when, according to Jasper’s account, one of the
assailants used bolt cutters to beat Ronnie in the face.
In response to
the attack, journalist Barbara Berend called for men to hold hands in public to
show solidarity with the victims. The hashtag #allemannenhandinhand, which
means “all men holding hands,” was trending on Twitter in the
Netherlands.
Two members of
the leftwing D66 party – Alexander
Pechtold and Wouter Koolmees – responded to the call before a meeting
to discuss the formation of a new government.
“We think it is
quite normal in the Netherlands to express who you are,” Pechtold told
DutchNews.nl.
The Deputy
Prime Minister also posted a picture on Twitter holding hands with a man.
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