Same-sex marriage now
legal in South Africa
• Civil Union Act
makes South Africa fifth nation in world
to legalize gay
marriage
• Church hopes to
perform first same-sex ceremony on Saturday
• Homosexuality still
outlawed in much of sub-Saharan Africa
By AP fromCNN.com
International on the Web, November 30, 2006
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Gay
couples soon may wed in South Africa, the first African nation to
pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. |
CAPE TOWN, South Africa --
With the deputy president's signature on a new law, South Africa on Thursday
became the first country in Africa and only the fifth in the world to legalize
same-sex marriages.
The Civil Union Act entered into force on the eve of a December 1 deadline set
by the Constitutional Court for the government to change its marriage
legislation to ensure full equality for gays and lesbians.
Gay rights groups have welcomed the law, although they criticized provisions
allowing clergy and civil marriage officers to turn away gay couples if their
consciences prevented them from marrying them.
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka signed the law in her capacity as acting
president because President Thabo Mbeki is in Nigeria.
South Africa recognized the rights of gay people in the constitution adopted
after apartheid ended in 1994, at a time when leaders were determined to bury
all kinds of legal discrimination a thing. The constitution, the first in
the world to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,
provides a powerful legal tool for gay rights activists even though South Africa
remains conservative on such issues.
The governing African National Congress had to push the legislation through
despite reservations from some of its own members. Influential traditional
leaders said the legislation violated African cultural norms. The Roman
Catholic Church and Muslim groups -- and many other religious organizations --
denounced it as violating the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.
The Anglican church said it was up to individual ministers to decide whether to
use the "opt out" clause, while liberal churches like the Metropolitan Churches
Community were in favor.
The National Assembly passed the legislation earlier this month and the National
Council of Provinces approved it on Tuesday. Mlambo-Ngcuka's signature was
the final legal step.
"There will be a huge response from same-sex couples who have waited such a long
time for their relationship to be recognized," predicted Melanie Judge of the
lesbian and gay project, OUT.
Janine Pressman, a pastor with the Glorious Light Metropolitan Community
Churches in the capital, Pretoria, said she hoped to marry a couple on Saturday,
provided the paperwork could be rushed through.
Priests wanting to wed same sex couples at a religious ceremony have to apply
for permission from the Home Affairs Ministry and possibly undergo exams to get
their license, ministry spokesman Jacky Mashapu said.
This could take two to three weeks, he said. But he added that the
ministry wanted to speed through the applications.
Civil unions, without a religious component, could be performed virtually on the
spot, subject to completion of the proper paperwork, he said.
"We are ready to go," Mashapu said.
The Civil Union Act provides for the "voluntary union of two persons, which is
solemnized and registered by either a marriage or civil union."
Radio talk shows and newspaper columns have highlighted opposition to same-sex
marriages in a country where gays and lesbians are victims of violent attacks
because of their sexual orientation.
South Africa is only the fifth country in the world to legalize gay marriages.
It is the first in Africa, where homosexuality is illegal in Zimbabwe, Kenya,
Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and most other sub-Saharan countries.
Judge, from OUT, said the public reaction had "forced us to confront the
deep-seated prejudice and intolerance against gays and lesbians. It's a
day to day reality," she said.
"It's been quite a frightening process to see the level of hatred that has been
openly expressed against this minority," she said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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