South African group: Same-sex marriages OK

The South African Union for Progressive Judaism will allow Jewish couples of the same gender to marry.”This decision was arrived at after long and thoughtful deliberation and in the spirit of what Progressive Judaism is about – inclusion of all Jews regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity,” Steve Lurie, the union chairman, said Monday.Lurie told the South African newspaper the Citizen that the decision was made at the union’s National Assembly meeting on May 6.”It was agreed that there should be no distinction in the status of religious marriages of same-sex partners and heterosexual couples,” he said, adding that the move went a long way to repudiate prejudice.In December 2006, South Africa became the fifth country in the world to grant same-sex couples the same status and rights as heterosexual marriage partners.