17 Ocotber 2006

Home Affairs Portfolio Committee

Christian Action Network: Submission regarding Civil Unions Bill

Following is a summary of the Christian Action Network’s oral submission presented to the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee at Parliament (17 October).

Discrimination is Necessary in Certain Situations

People who practice homosexual acts enjoy all the same rights as other people do. They have the same constitutional rights to human dignity and life, to be treated fairly before the law, freedom of religion, belief, expression, freedom to assemble and associate with people whom they choose to, freedom of trade and profession and to own property etc. However, special rights should not be granted on the basis of behaviour, and special protections should not be given to certain behaviours. No one has the freedom to behave as the want – especially when that behaviour is unhealthy and poses a risk to the health, security and stability of the public. If homosexuals are afforded protection on the grounds of their sexual orientation, what is to stop those who want to marry an animal, a sibling or even a child? If special privileges are granted to people based on sexual behaviour, then why stop at homosexuals, surely pedophiles and those involved with bestiality should also not be discriminated against?

Why Definitions Count

The moral standards and beliefs of a nation influence the laws that a nation makes. The laws of a nation and the definitions set forth in those laws, in turn affect these moral standards, ideas and beliefs about an institution such as marriage. In other words, if marriage is redefined in South African law, marriage will begin to be perceived as less and less important and necessary. The advent of legally sanctioned gay unions in Scandinavian countries has already destroyed the institution of marriage, where half of today's children are born out of wedlock, with devastating social consequences. Suicide rates in these nations are some of the highest in the world.

If the legal benefits of marriage are given away to any other type of relationship, the status of marriage is eroded. After marriages have been legally redefined, divorces will be obtained instantly, will not involve a court, and will take on the status of a driver's license or a hunting permit. With the family out of the way, all rights and privileges of marriage will accrue to same-sex couples without the legal entanglements and commitments heretofore associated with it.

Protect Pastors

We are concerned that even though at first pastors may be allowed to object to conducting same sex marriage ceremonies, the radical homosexual agenda will stop at nothing short of forcing churches to conduct these ceremonies and recognise these marriages as legitimate. ANC Chairman of the parliamentary committee that worked on the Equality Bill, Moheesan Moosa, said at a news conference in January 2000, “Religious bodies must in future obey the value system set out in the new Equality Bill…This Bill does not exempt anybody.” He threatened, “Those religious interpretations that do not uphold those values will be tested in court.” In other words, there are bound to be cases in the future where pastors will face legal battles for refusing to marry homosexual couples.

Marriage registrars in the Western Isles of Scotland refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies. The Western Isles Council backed their decision. The Council has since received hate mail from around the world. This hate mail included one death threat, which said councillors should be hung from “the nearest tree”. (The Daily Telegraph, Scottish edition, 21 December 2005 ). This serves to illustrate the need for marriage to be protected in the Constitution.

Protect Marriage to Protect Our Future

On behalf of our Network of 30 organisations, we would like to urge the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee to implement a Constitutional Amendment that would uphold the traditional definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. While our constitution does allow homosexual lifestyles, it is not required to promote these lifestyle choices or to redefine the covenant of marriage.

We urge you not to ignore the sincere convictions of the majority of South Africans from many religious backgrounds, who believe that this traditional definition of marriage must be upheld for the health and prosperity of future generations.

We believe that traditional marriages form the most fundamental building blocks of society, providing stability and protection for children to grow up in and become good citizens. Homosexual relationships are short-lived and less faithful. Children need a stable home to grow up in. Even in those homosexual relationships, which the partners consider committed, the meaning of ‘committed’ typically means something radically different from marriage. In the Triangle Project study of homosexual men in Cape Town , 47% of respondents said that they were currently in a relationship, yet only 13.3% of respondents had only one partner in the past year. 60% of the men who were currently ‘in a relationship’ admitted to having sex with people other than their partners in the past year (Sex Survey, 2000, Cape Town , Richard Boxford, Feb 2001).

Conclusion

If marriage can be distorted to mean everything, then it will mean absolutely nothing.

Lastly, we urge you to consider the fact that no state has the authority to redefine the God-ordained institution of marriage. The Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew19:4-5, “Have you not read that He who created them at the beginning made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.’”

Taryn Hodgson

National Co-ordinator

Christian Action Network

PO Box 23632

Claremont

7735

Tel: (021) 689 4481

Fax: (021) 685 5884

E-mail: info@christianaction.org.za

website: www.christianaction.org.za