2005/12/01 : Suddenly I'm extra proudly South African. Our constitutional court (the country's highest court) has just ruled in favour of same-sex marriages (Wikipedia). This makes us the 5th country in the world to legalise - not just accept - same-sex marriage and all the benefits that provides same-sex couples. Wonderful news :-)
"The common law definition of marriage is declared to be inconsistent with the constitution and invalid to the extent that it does not permit same-sex couples to enjoy the status and benefits it accords heterosexual couples," said Justice Albie Sachs in a ruling delivered by the constitutional court.
News Links:
- Concourt rules in favour of gay marriage
- SA court in favour of same-sex marriages
- Nothing immediate on Google News but just wait :-)
Other links:
update [2005/12/02]: International media has now picked it up (see Google News and the NYT article which links to the full text of the CC ruling) and Google blog search is showing serious activity too as expected :-)
Opposition quotes:
“I warned the ANC that by including the ‘sexual orientation’ clause they were aiming at redefining marriage, the ANC said they would never redefine marriage, therefore they must take the blame for the moral degeneration of the country and break-down of the family” - Kenneth Meshoe, president of the ACDP (from this press release)
“Every long-standing society has viewed marriage as a union of male and female. Studies of previous civilizations reveal that when a society strays from the sexual ethic of marriage, it deteriorates and eventually disintegrates,” said Steve Swart, the ACDP’s spokesperson on justice and constitutional matters.
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A huge HOORAY for South Africa. I often hear (on the blogosphere) that the South African constitution is among the best in the world, if not the best.
Does this not go on to prove it?
Well done, folks. Perhaps some of all this will rub off on some of us.