Well Done, South Africa!

South Africa’s parliament has legalized gay marriage, and their model appears to be very close to the one we’ve often discussed within these pages:

The National Assembly passed the Civil Union Bill, worked out after months of heated public discussion, by a majority of 230 to 41 votes despite criticism from both traditionalists and gay activists and warnings that it might be unconsitutional [sic]. There were three abstentions.

The bill provides for the "voluntary union of two persons, which is solemnized and registered by either a marriage or civil union." It does not specify whether they are heterosexual or homosexual partnerships.

But it also says marriage officers need not perform a ceremony between same-sex couples if doing so would conflict with his or her "conscience, religion and belief."

Fair enough. Freedom of religion and all that. If I’m understanding this legislation correctly, a civil union is exactly the same as a marriage; what Mr. Shakes and I did (getting hitched at City Hall in about 5 minutes) would also be regarded as a civil union, thereby delineating the difference between the two along religious lines (as it should be), as opposed to the sexual orientation of the couple.

"When we attained our democracy, we sought to distinguish ourselves from an unjust painful past, by declaring that never again shall it be that any South African will be discriminated against on the basis of color, creed culture and sex," Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told the National Assembly.

Lovely. Really and truly.

My girlfriend Miller just emailed me excitedly about this story. She’s a straight woman, who is totally pro-gay rights but wouldn’t be described as an activist; she’s just a sensible and compassionate person who believes in equality. That’s why the GOP lost. That’s why same-sex marriage is inevitable in America. Because there are Americans with no vested interest in the legalization of same-sex marriage who are celebrating South Africa’s decision—and they’re eagerly waiting to see the same equality grace their shores as well.