Home Affairs committee adopts Civil Union Amendment Bill
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs has today adopted the Civil Union Amendment Bill and will recommend to the National Assembly to pass it.
The purpose of the Bill is to repeal section 6 of the principal Act, which allowed a marriage officer to inform the Minister that he or she objects on the ground of conscience, religion, and belief to solemnising a civil union between persons of the same sex.
The committee is in agreement with the Constitutional Court ruling that it was unconstitutional for the State to provide the benefits of marriage to opposite-sex couples whilst denying them to same-sex couples. This infringed the right to equality before the law and the right not to be discriminated against by the State on grounds of sexual orientation.
In passing the Bill, the committee was cognisant of the fact that the law could not be retrospective. To remedy this, the Bill proposes a transitional period of 24 months to give the Department of Home Affairs an opportunity for training of those officials that had been granted exemption by the Minister as enabled by the principal act.
The amendment further requires that during the transitional period; the Minister of Home Affairs must ensure that there is a marriage officer, other than a marriage officer who had been granted exemption through the principal Act, available to solemnise a civil union at every Department of Home Affairs office.
The committee is of the view that this amendment is a strong affirmation to the right of equality before the law and further prevents any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Enquiries:
Malatswa Molepo
Tel: 021 403 8438
Cell: 081 512 7920
E-mail: mmolepo@parliament.gov.za
