Dec 01 2005
Marriage OK in S.A.
South African Court Rules for Same-Sex Marriage JOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 — South Africa’s top court said on Thursday it was unconstitutional to deny gay people the right to marry, putting it on track to become the first African country to legalise same-sex marriage.
The Constitutional Court told parliament to amend marriage laws to include same-sex partners within the year — a step that would make South Africa the fifth country in the world to approve gay marriage despite widespread African taboos against homosexuality.
“The exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and responsibilities of marriage … signifies that their capacity for love, commitment and accepting responsibility is by definition less worthy of regard than that of heterosexual couples,” Justice Albie Sachs said in the ruling.
The court said if parliament did not act, the legal definition of marriage would be automatically changed to include same-sex unions. That would put South Africa alongside Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Canada in allowing gay marriages.
(emphasis added)
