Watch: Two little boys got ‘married’ at school
A school in Belgium was home to a surprising wedding – for two young boys.
Freinetschool de Boomgaard school in Ghent often holds ‘pretend’ weddings for students, usually with one girl and one boy taking part in the ceremony.
However, best friends Titus and Otto asked if they could marry eachother instead… and the school went all-in on the idea.
TV network TVO filmed the moment that the pair held their mock-wedding, exchanging friendship bands.
The ‘ceremony’ was officiated by their teacher, with their class and other staff members serving as witnesses.
The channel says it is the first time that two boys have ever been allowed to marry each-other in the pretend ceremonies, but it serves as a “nice signal” to their classmates and the rest of the world.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Belgium since 2003, when it was only the second country in the world to pass equal marriage legislation.
Belgium was also home to the world’s first openly gay male Prime Minister.
Elio Di Rupo became the first openly gay man to lead a country in 2011, heading up a coalition government after a year and a half in which no government could be formed.
The leader – seldom seen without his signature bow tie – came out when a heckling journalist shouted: “They say you are a homosexual.”
Mr Di Rupore recalled: “I turned around and shot back: ‘Yes. So what?’ I will never forget that moment… for several seconds there was silence. People were so surprised by my reply they stopped jostling each other. It was a sincere, truthful reply.”
By the time Mr Di Rupo came to power, the country had already had gender recognition laws, same-sex marriage, and LGBT adoption for several years.
He was branded “shameless” in the Belgian press after he was seen without his shirt on in a documentary… unlike any heterosexual world leader ever.
