Same-Sex Marriage

Same-Sex Marriage has been an issue in many nations since the 1990's, and now South Africa has approved a bill which makes same-sex marriage legal in South Africa. South Africa is the first African nation to do so, it was brought through despite the pressure religious and traditional groups exerted onto the political parties. Northern European Nations were the first to recognize same-sex marriage, Denmark in 1989 was the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage, yet it took another seven years before Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Finland (France allowed same-sex marriage to a limited extend) followed suit. Then five years later several other European nations legalized same-sex marriage, as well as other nations internationally.
South Africa is an odd case because of the way the same-sex marriage was legalized, in the December of 2005 the Supreme Court of South Africa found it unconstitutional not to allow same-sex couple to marry, this then triggered several month of politics until eventually it was passed into law that same-sex marriage was legal. This is a great victory for same-sex rights activists since this is the first African nation and a nation that has been haunted by discrimination for many years.

Here is a time-line for the legalization of same-sex marriage:
Denmark (1989) was the first nation, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Norway and France to a limited extend (1996), Vermont (US-State)(2000), Netherlands (2001) is the first nation which gave full civil rights to same-sex marriages urther Germany (2001), Belgium and Argentina (2003), Luxembourg, California (US-State), Massachusetts (US-State), Oregon (US-State) and New Zealand (2004), Spain, Britain, Connecticut (US-State), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006).

S Africa approves same-sex unions