Civil Union Bill vote: A day of shame insulting marriage and trashing democracy

14 November 2006

Civil Union Bill vote: A day of shame insulting marriage and trashing democracy

Today, 14 November 2006, the National Assembly debated and voted to pass the Civil Union Bill. ChristianView Network director, Philip Rosenthal said “The Bill is an insult to marriage and a trashing of democracy. It will open the door for more attacks on morality, religious freedom and children’s rights. This is a day of shame for South Africa.”.

The revised Civil Union Bill, is a confusing piece of legislation which uses the term ‘civil union’ and ‘marriage’ interchangeably. It thus insults and undermines true marriage more seriously than the previous version of the Bill.

The African National Congress (ANC) took the unprecedented step of not only denying their MPs the right to conscientiously object and vote against the Bill, but also abstain or be absent from the vote. Thus the will of the democratic majority of South Africans has been trampled in favour of the views of eleven unelected and unaccountable judges on the Constitutional Court. A structure set up to protect democracy has been abused to undermine it. Despite the ANC instruction, many MPs did not attend the vote. The IFP and ACDP opposed the Bill, while the DA allowed a free vote.

The fight on this issue is not over. To be implemented, the Bill will still need to go to the National Council of Provinces and be signed by the president. An alternative Constitutional Marriage Amendment by ACDP MP Steve Swart, is currently being considered by the Portfolio Committee on Private Members Bills. Thousands of people have signed petitions in support of this amendment. The campaign will continue.

If ‘same-sex marriage’ is legalised as planned by 1 December 2006, this is likely to unleash a wave of homosexual persecution against Christians and other pro-moral South Africans, as they attempt to force others to recognise their immoral unions and silence opposition through lawsuits and intimidation.

A positive aspect of the Civil Union Bill is that the parts dealing with ‘domestic partnerships’ for unmarried immoral couples living together has been removed. This may possibly be introduced as a separate Bill in future.

All state marriage officers are advised to urgently notify the Minister of Home Affairs in writing that they conscientiously object to solemnising same-sex unions at fax (012) 810 7312. This will entitle them to legal protection in terms of section six of the Civil Union Bill. The Bill fails to protect others who may be forced to obliged to recognise or assist with ‘same-sex marriages’, such as wedding venue owners, catering staff or those in the hospitality industry and other government employees.

As with abortion, the fight against so called ‘same-sex marriage’ will continue however long it takes to put an end to this evil.