Strike another blow for the foresight of Nelson Mandela! The post-apartheid constitution of South Africa forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the
South African Constitutional Court has ruled GLBT folks can marry.
The court is giving Parliament 1 year to officially change the law, or apparently it will "do it for them." So, a mixed bag perhaps, and certainly for couples who are waiting to marry now. From the
Advocate on line:
The Constitutional Court gave Parliament a year to make the necessary legal changes, disappointing activists, some of whom have been waiting years to marry. "We were thinking we would be calling our friends today and inviting them to our wedding," said Fikile Vilakazi, of the Forum for the Empowerment of Women, who proposed to her partner more than six months ago. "Now they are asking us to wait another year."
As the Afrol News reports, the South African government has asked for time to figure this out.
The majority of the court's judges agreed to the couple's constitutional right to get married and urged the government to reform the discriminating Marriage Act. One dissenting judge, while agreeing to the couple's constitutional rights, however said South African lawmakers first should be given sufficient time to reform common laws before the judgement was put in force.
The South African government today reacted calmly to the ruling. The Department of Home Affairs said it wished to "clarify its position on the matter," while emphasising that the government "respects the right to dignity and equality as enshrined in the Constitution of the country."
The Department nevertheless asked for more time to prepare possible law reforms, "given the sensitivity around the issue." The South African Law Reform Commission "should be afforded space and time to finalise its report on same sex marriages," the Department added.