DA TO QUESTION GOVERNMENT ON GAY MARRIAGE PROBLEMS
The DA’s Shadow Minister of Home Affairs is set to question the government in Parliament on why gay couples who wish to marry have been turned away by Home Affairs in the Eastern Cape.
MP Manny de Freitas told Mambaonline of his frustration and anger at the “pure discrimination” that a Port Elizabeth gay couple recently faced when attempting to get married through the department.
Last week, Kevin de Lange (42) and Cobus Steyn (43), who planned to marry on 24 June, were turned away by Home Affairs officials who told them that they did not conduct same-sex marriage and referred them to a private marriage officer.
This was the third such reported incident in as many years in Port Elizabeth, and it is unclear if the problem is more widespread in the province or the rest of the country.
Under the Civil Union Act, Home Affairs marriage officers can apply to the minister to be exempted from conducting same-sex marriages, but the department must supply an alternative official in every office who will marry gay couples.
According to Lance Weyer, former Mr Gay South Africa and a DA Buffalo City Metro Council Member in the Eastern Cape, the DA’s then Shadow Minister, Annette Lovemore, submitted questions to the Home Affairs ministry via Parliament following one of the incidents in 2011.
“Senior management at Home Affairs [at the time] reaffirmed their responsibility to make sure that there is at least one Civil Union Act marriage officer in every Home Affairs office,” he said.
De Freitas told Mambaonline that the current situation “is unacceptable”. He said that he will be asking the minister of Home Affairs questions in Parliament on the issue, including requesting statistics on which Home Affairs offices do not have Civil Union marriage officers, as required by law.
“I will keep [the de Lange and Steyn case] for a statement which I will make in the House and to the Minister of Home Affairs, citing this example and asking why this is still allowed to continue,” said De Freitas.
I can assure you that more than 3 couples have been turned away. We hear about couples being turned away almost every week.
Howzit Michael. How are you and Donovan doing? I send a strongly worded letter to Ronnie Mamoepa regarding this latest incident via the Herald and they removed my letter from their website. It more or less went as follows. I am e-mailing same to them now.
This is an open letter to Mr Ronnie Mamoepa regarding the latest incident wherein South African citizens were refused the opportunity to marry. (Herald 14 June 2013 Officials refuse to marry gay pair)
“Mr Mamoepa, I understand that you are the Home Affairs spokesman but that does mean that all you must do is speak. Instead of sprouting the same old response as you did in 2011, and not doing a damn thing about this discrimination, start acting .As South African citizens we demand that you and your department comply with the laws of this country before another inept official humiliates more tax paying citizens. You are paid to serve us – now do so! The time to act -not speak- is now. Up to now we have been patient. Now we demand our rights. As it stands you are spitting on the Constitution of South Africa. Shame on you and your department. We demand answers as to what you are going to do NOW to sort out this mess, to comply with the laws of this land, to ensure it does not happen again?
Oops I saw some really bad grammar in that first sentence. Thanks be that I have not sent it yet. I am also sending to National Department of Home Affairs e-mail recipients and going to be that irritating activist that annoys you daily until you do something about it. Come other couples and single gay guys and gals – lets get active. I saw the hurt in hubbies eyes when we were rejected- not by DHA but by others. We eventually also did the ACT thing
Thanks
Wayne
Blatant discrimination!. This should not be allowed in our day and age. Wonder what would happen if a marriage officer decided to reject a marriage based on his own beliefs about interracial marriage? Refusing tax payers their right to a free social service! Marriage officers should remember that it is the tax payers money that pays their salaries, in other words they work for the public and should therefor have the public’s interest at heart. Nobody likes their jobs 100% all the time but we all still have to do our jobs. If ones private views and hang-ups prevent one from doing ones job in a specific post you shouldn’t be working there and if the department has to call upon a different marriage officer every time there is a same-sex marriage why not just keep one marriage officer who does both. Such discriminative officers are making themselves redundant.
(Just a member of the public who doesn’t like to see others constitutional rights tramples on just like she wouldn’t like her own disregarded)
We experienced the same thing and was advised to contact a Rev. Penfold, we did this and eventualy got married through her. Acording to Home Affairs at that time there were only three people conducting civil unions and of that three only Rev. Penfold was avialble in the PE area….. I find this disheartening also, because I am also a trained Christian Minister and would love to assist others in this regard, but to be licenced as a marriage officer one has to have a recomendation by a registered church body, and i do not see any Denomination granting such documentation to a happily gay married minister who they kicked out for, gues what? being gay in the first place….. the system yet again is maligning us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Werner, you can contact me at fr.og.felix@mweb.co.za There are churches / Christian communities who do officiate at same sex marriages.
Why are marriage officers with personal views and hangups even employed if it renders them unable to do their jobs?
The way I see it These officer’s salaries are paid by tax payers money to render a public service. None of us like our jobs but sometimes we just have to do it, comply with the the laws of the constitution already. Same-sex marriage has been accepted by the constitution since 2006 and in 2013 the department of home affairs in Port Elizabeth is still “sorry” for not getting their act together. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE INDEED!
Each home affairs department is by law obliged to have at least one marriage officer who conducts same-sex marriages, What is wrong with the P.E. branch!!! We don’t need another apology from Mr. Mapoepa, just get it right and keep it right for now and always. You can discuss your hang-ups with the ladies from the milk-tart club at church, but when you are at work and dealing with public please do it professionally by just doing your job – Klaar!!!
So if a part of the constitution offends your personal morality you can choose not to abide by it? If an official at the Traffic dept. believes that women shouldn’t drive, he would be able to tell them to go elsewhere to apply for their driver’s licenses? No? Then why the fuck the double standards?