So, South Africa shames the U.S. again.

[Sapphocrat]

Pity when the former bastion of apartheid (and where "necklacing" was common in the 1990s) -- and a "Christian country" -- leaves the United States in the dust when it comes to LGBT rights (S.A. already has same-sex immigration, too, by the way):

S. Africa's Cabinet approves civil-union bill

South Africa is poised to become the next country in the world -- and the first in Africa -- to legally recognize same-sex relationships, now that President Thabo Mbeki's Cabinet approved a civil-unions bill Thursday.

<snip>

The bill comes after South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled in December that the country's common-law understanding of marriage was unconstitutional because it discriminated against gay people.

South Africa's Constitution, adopted in 1994 after the end of apartheid, forbids discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It was the first constitution in the world to do so. But the government previously fought in court attempts to extend the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples in the mostly Christian country.

The new bill provides for the recognition of domestic partnerships between adults, whether of the same or different sex.

<snip>

More (including the fundy backlash):
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2006/08/25/2

[pinto]

1. Kudos to South Africa. That's a piece of good news.

[Mika]

2. Cuba did this a couple of years ago (same sex domestic partnerships).

Plus, next session, Cuba's parliament will consider sex change operation coverage under their universal health care system.

[xchrom]

3. just one more way to poke at the corpse of apartheid.