South Africa say Hey!
December 1st, 2005 by JoshSouth Africa is a truly remarkable country. Despite a long history of apartheid and general racial strife in the most ethnically diverse nation on the African continent, South Africa has the largest economy and the most modern infrastructure in the region. While we’ve seen the results of American supported reactionary criminal justice in Iraq, South Africa took a different approach towards healing the divisions in the country with its Truth and Reconciliation Commission and has finally turned significant resources towards fighting HIV/AIDS. It is most certainly a country still facing a variety of problems, but today its High Court took a step forward in terms of civil rights with its ruling in favor of same-sex marriage:
South Africa’s highest court ruled today that same-sex marriages enjoy the same legal status as those between men and women, effectively making the nation one of just five worldwide that have removed legal barriers to gay and lesbian unions.
But the Constitutional Court, as the high court is known, effectively stayed its ruling for one year to give the Parliament time to amend a 1961 marriage law to reflect its decision. Should the legislature balk, the court said, the law will be automatically changed to make its provisions gender-neutral.
Few expect the Parliament to resist, even though African nations are generally intolerant of gay relationships and many South Africans are conservative on social issues.
Yes, caveats abound, but I for one am heartened that a country that is basically socially conservative and that has only recently emerged from incredible hardship can make this positive move in recognizing the inherent human dignity of full civil rights.
How sad is it that there are many in our nation who still question the wisdom of civil rights legislation at all?
