Christians mass against gay bill
2006-09-16 21:05
Johannesburg - Thousands of Christians sang, prayed and chanted "hallelujah" as they marched through South African cities on Saturday, protesting against a bill that would make the nation the first on the continent to legalise same-sex civil unions.
The protests, spearheaded by the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), come days before a parliamentary committee holds hearings on a controversial bill that will accord same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.
At the parliament building in Cape Town, protesters opposed to the Civil Unions Bill presented a memorandum to home affairs portfolio committee chairman Patrick Chauke.
The memorandum demanded a constitutional amendment to "protect" traditional marriage.
Simultaneous marches were staged in other cities, including Johannesburg and Durban.
"The institution of marriage has been the cornerstone of civilised society for thousands of years," Steve Swart, an ACDP MP and the party's justice critic, was quoted as saying by the Sapa news agency.
Parliament has a year to change law
"Traditional marriages, in which one man and one woman create a lasting community, pass on time-honoured family values to secure the future and, therefore, are worthy of protection."
The cabinet approved the bill last month, after a Constitutional Court ruled it was unconstitutional to deny gay people the right to marry.
The court gave parliament one year to change the law. The deadline is December 1.
Gay rights activists have applauded the move but have voiced concern over the bill.
Religious groups, including the Catholic, Anglican and Dutch Reformed churches, oppose altering the current law, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
If enacted, the bill would place the country among a handful of mostly European countries that allow same-sex civil union and make it the first to do so in Africa.
The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada sanction gay marriages.