DURBAN - THE African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) has slammed a Bill that would compel marriage officers to solemnise same-sex marriages.
Committee meetings have been underway at Parliament to discuss among other pieces of legislation, the Civil Union Bill.
Amendments to this Bill were proposed in Parliament by COPE MP Deidre Carter.
Currently, Section 6 of the Civil Union Act provides for a marriage officer to be exempted from solemnising same-sex marriages on the grounds of conscience, religion and belief.
The new Bill would mean that marriage officers, regardless of their religious beliefs, must solemnise same-sex marriages.
While major political parties including the ANC, DA and EFF, have come in support of the bill, the ACDP’s MP Cheryllyn Dudley came down hard on the legislation.
“For a society that professes to value freedom of choice we are becoming more and more selective about who gets to choose and who does not,” she said.
For Dudley, it was important the Parliament protected all civil servants, despite their beliefs.
“Our constitution protects freedom of conscience, religion and belief and members of Parliament have a duty to see that people are not compelled to act against their conscience in the course of their work and that they are not discriminated against on these grounds,” she said.
Earlier this year, The Post reported on how a young gay couple who dreamt of tying the knot were turned away from a Hindu temple in Durban.
The couple, both 25, were turned away from conducting a traditional Tamil wedding ceremony at the temple after being told their union was ‘not correct’.