Key Committee Passes South Africa Gay Unions Bill

09 Nov 2006- Cape Town, South Africa- Legislation giving South African gay and lesbian couples civil marriage will go to the floor of Parliament Tuesday.

The Home Affairs committee passed the measure Thursday, the final hurdle before the bill is debated.

The committee on Wednesday stripped out a contentious section that would have allowed all of the rights of marriage to couples, both same and opposite-sex, who are unmarried but live together.

Committee chair Patrick Chauke said that the section would go to Parliament as a separate bill. 

The civil unions bill would allow for civil marriage by same-sex couples but would not require churches to conduct ceremonies. 

Debate will begin Tuesday with a vote later in the week Chauke said, ensuring the measure will be passed before a court imposed December deadline.

Last year the Constitutional Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the rights of marriage was unconstitutional. It said that if Parliament fails to act by the December deadline the the law automatically be changed to include same-sex unions. But, it gave no specific direction on how the law should be changed.

The proposed legislation has been criticized by both religious conservatives and LGBT organizations.

Church groups want the constitution amended to specifically bar same-sex unions.

LGBT groups say the bill perpetuates discrimination because it creates a separate marriage law for gay couples rather than amending the existing Marriage Act.

Last week the office of the state law advisor and a second legal advisor to the government said that by creating separate status for same-sex couples the bill would likely be rejected by the Constitutional Court. They recommended abandoning the separate legislation and rewriting the Marriage Act to make it gender neutral.

But the Justice Department disagreed saying that the bill meets all of the qualifications laid out by the court. 

© Copyright African Veil 2005 - 2009