Cabinet warns opponents of legislation

By Tarryn Le Chat
21 September 2006

Cabinet has warned those opposed to the legislation on same sex marriages that they should be careful not to behave in a way that suggests they want to defy the decision of the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court is the highest court in the land.

In a briefing after cabinet had met, government communications head, Themba Maseko, said that the cabinet had noted the discourse on the Civil Union Bill.

Maseko, during the course of the briefing, suggested that those taking part in the debate should not express themselves in a way that suggests they wanted to defy the constitutional Court.

“While every individual or group has the right to express their views openly on same-sex marriages, the cabinet emphasised that the need for everyone to be reminded that the definition of marriage in the Marriage act was unconstitutional”, said Maseko.

Government does hope that Parliament, which is holding public hearings on the matter, will resolve all the outstanding issues in time.

Cabinet has not discussed a proposal by the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) to change the constitution.

The deadline for the proposed legislation is November 30th.