http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1363207

South African Court Affirms Gay Marriage
South Africa's Highest Court Rules in Favor of Gay Marriage; Nation to
Become First to Legalize It
By ALEXANDRA ZAVIS Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa Dec 1, 2005 - South Africa's highest court ruled
in favor of gay marriage Thursday, a landmark decision that clears the way
for the country to become the first to legalize same-sex unions on a
continent where homosexuality remains largely taboo.

The decision does not take immediate effect, however. The Constitutional
Court, which decided it is unconstitutional to prohibit gays from marrying,
gave Parliament a year to make the necessary legal changes. That
disappointed gay rights activists, some of whom have been waiting years to
wed.

"We were thinking we would be calling our friends today and inviting them to
our wedding," said Fikile Vilakazi, of the Forum for the Empowerment of
Women, who proposed to her partner more than six months ago. "Now they are
asking us to wait another year."



South Africa recognized the rights of gay people in the constitution adopted
after apartheid ended in 1994 the first in the world to prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But the government has
opposed attempts to extend the definition of marriage in court to include
same-sex couples in the mostly Christian country.

Married couples have many rights denied gay couples, including the ability
to make decisions on each other's behalf in medical emergencies and
inheritance rights if a partner dies without a will.

In delivering Thursday's ruling, Judge Albie Sachs said current legal
definitions of marriage as a union between a man and a woman "are
accordingly inconsistent with sections . of the Constitution to the extent
that they make no provision for same-sex couples to enjoy the status,
entitlements and responsibilities they accord to heterosexual couples."

The court instructed Parliament to extend the legal definition within a
year, or else the courts would automatically do so, the South African Press
Association reported.

Judge Kate O'Regan agreed with the other 10 members of the court that
same-sex marriage should be legal but argued in a separate opinion that the
court should effect the changes immediately a view shared by gay rights
groups.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1363207

South African Court Affirms Gay Marriage