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Call for one law on marriage
07/09/2006 23:00 - (SA)
Cape Town - The general secretary of the SA Council of Churches, Eddie Makue, has called for a single law governing all forms of marriage, including same-sex unions, rather than the dual legislation proposed by the government.
He made the call in an open letter, released on Thursday, to the chairs of parliament's home affairs and justice portfolio committees.
"Our national history illustrates all too painfully the folly and injustice of creating multiple legal and administrative mechanisms to perform essentially the same functions for different categories of people," he said.
"Separate institutions are rarely, if ever, equal.
Consulted with key figures
"Their chances of achieving equal impact are further reduced if they are embedded in a society that remains afflicted by prejudice and discrimination."
The letter does not have the status of a full SACC document, but it was drafted in consultation with key figures in several religious denominations.
The home affairs committee is gearing up for public hearings on the Civil Union Bill, a measure additional to the existing Marriage Act.
It will provide for state recognition of a same-sex "civil partnership" or marriage, as well as of what it calls a "domestic partnership".
Makue said the state should craft a single legal framework capable of recognising and protecting the legal rights of all partners who wanted to declare their commitment to each other, irrespective of gender, faith or cultural tradition.
Call for expeditious action
He suggested this should be done by amending the Marriage Act.
"We urge parliament to act expeditiously to reconcile existing marriage legislation with the provisions of section nine of the constitution (the equality clause) within the timeframe designated by the Constitutional Court.
"We trust that, in so doing, parliament will refrain from imposing any duty on faith communities that would inhibit them from celebrating and blessing partnerships in ways consistent with their respective beliefs."
The Constitutional Court last year gave parliament until December 1 this year to correct what it said was the unconstitutional definition of marriage in the act.
- SAPA
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