Okay, the article from the BBC first, and then my thoughts: Batten your hatches!
South Africa's parliament has voted to legalize same-sex weddings - the first African country to approve such unions.
The controversial Civil Union bill was passed by 230 votes to 41.
The legislation was introduced after the Constitutional Court ruled last year that the existing laws discriminated against homosexuals.
The ruling African National Congress ordered all MPs to turn up and vote for the bill, despite the opposition of church and traditional leaders.
The bill provides for the "voluntary union of two persons, which is solemnized and registered by either a marriage or civil union".
The existing Marriage Act defines a marriage as a "union between a man and a woman".
Three-line whip
During the debate before the vote, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told MPs: "In breaking with our past... we need to fight and resist all forms of discrimination and prejudice, including homophobia."
To wed or not?
Gay marriage around the globe
But, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, president of the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference, said the bill would be a blow against democracy.
"The impression we got is that there is overwhelming opposition to this bill from people throughout South Africa," he told South Africa's Daily News before the vote.
African Christian Democratic Party leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe told MPs that those who voted for same-sex marriages would face divine wrath.
However, some gay rights activists have also criticized the bill, because it gives officials the right not to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies if this would conflict with their "conscience, religion and belief".
In the face of such strong feelings, the ANC had issued a three-line whip, instructing all MPs to vote in favor of the bill.
The ANC has a huge majority in parliament.
Last year, the Constitutional Court gave the government until 1 December 2006 to legalize same-sex weddings, after gay rights activists took the issue to court.
The ruling was based on the constitution, which was the first in the world specifically to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual preference.
This is unusual in Africa where homosexuality is largely taboo - notably in its neighbor Zimbabwe.
MY COMMENTS:
#1 “...controversial Civil Union bill was passed by 230 votes to 41” Controversial? It passed by a margin of 85%! 85 FUCKING percent! 17 of every 20 elected leaders in South Africa supported this simple act of equality..... It may be controversial in some places, but it doesn’t appear to be in Cape Town!
#2 “Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, president of the South African Catholic Bishops' Conference, said the bill would be a blow against democracy.” Catholics are not exactly experts on DEMOCRACY! They live by a system of authoritarian-heirarchy that has sustained the cult for over 2,000 years now. You need a spokesperson on a topic like “authority”, or “hierarchy”, or “pedophilia:” ask your local priest. But “Democracy”?--might as well ask an octopus about life on Mount Kilimanjaro!
#3 “....in Africa....homosexuality is largely taboo - notably in its neighbor Zimbabwe.” Not according to my sources. Homosexuality in Zimbabwe is as taboo as Judaism in Germany was in 1943!
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