(Cape Town, South Africa) South Africa on Thursday became the fifth country to legalize same-sex marriage.
The Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa, ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
The court ordered Parliament to amend marriage laws within 12 months. If it fails to act within that timeframe, the court said the ruling would automatically change the law to include same-sex unions.
"The current definition of marriage is considered to be inconsistent with the constitution," the written ruling said.
LGBT civil rights groups welcomed the ruling but some same-sex couples were unhappy they would have to wait up to a year before marrying.
Thursday's high court ruling ended a legal battle that already has dragged on for years.
The case was brought by Marie Fourie and Cecilia Bonthuys, who have been partners since 1994 but were unable to marry. Seven other same-sex couples later joined the case.
Last year the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman discriminated unfairly against same-sex couples, and that common law should be developed to take this into account.
The government appealed the ruling to the Constitutional Court.
The Department of Home Affairs argued that the appeal court violated the rule of the separation of powers by usurping Parliament's authority by making law.
"Same-sex partnerships are a relatively new phenomena," said the Department of Home Affairs' advocate Marumo Moerane, sparking laughter in the packed gallery. He then said that, "We don't know whether single-sex relationships involve the idea of mutual support."
Lawyers for the same-sex couples argued that denying civil marriage to gays violates the constitution.
South Africa's post apartheid constitution states that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals have the same rights as any other individual. Section 9 of the Constitution outlaws discrimination in South Africa based on sexual orientation.
Thursday's ruling was the latest in a series of legal wins for gays and lesbians dating back to 1998 when sodomy was decriminalized.
The following year immigrant partners of South African lesbians and gays were allowed to apply for permanent residence.
Same-sex adoption was legalized in 2002 and in 2003 the government bowed to pressure and permitted domestic partner benefits.
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