Civil Union Amendment Bill
Marriage officers in the public sector could soon lose their ability to ask for an exemption from officiating same-sex marriages on the grounds of their religious beliefs.
The development comes after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) passed the Civil Union Amendment Bill prohibiting marriage officers from objecting to marrying same-sex couples.
During a sitting of the NCOP, only two parties voted against the bill, the EFF and the Freedom Front Plus, who collectively had five votes.
The rest of the parties who participated voted in favour, with 33 votes.
This means the Civil Union Amendment Bill is one step closer to becoming law after it was also approved by the National Assembly in 2018. The last step remaining now is for President Cyril Ramaphosa to assent to it.
The Civil Union Amendment Bill was referred to the Select Committee on Security after its revival in 2019. The purpose of the Civil Union Bill is to repeal section 6 of the Civil Union Act of 2006 which allows 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.
During the vigorous processing of the Bill, the Select Committee received extensive submissions – a total of 325 submissions from organisations and individuals either in favour or against the amendment Bill.
The Committee also considered Section 195 (1) of the Constitution which provides that public administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, including in subsection (d) that services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias.
The Committee noted further that Section 197(3) of the Constitution provides that no employee of the public service may be favoured or prejudiced only because that person supports a particular political party or cause. The Committee agreed that the repeal of Section 6 of the Civil Union Act, 2006 was important in advancing equality and upholding the Constitutional rights afforded to persons entering into same-sex unions.
Read: Gomora Teasers July 2020 – Catch up, Latest Episodes