Page:Minister of Home Affairs v Fourie.djvu/89

 Rh those following the workshops were collated and further research emanating from these responses was conducted. Follow-up meetings with specific interest groups were held.

From the inputs received, the memorandum continues, the SALRC felt that it was clear that the challenge facing it would be to reconcile the constitutional right to equality of same and opposite-sex couples on the one hand, with religious and moral objections to the recognition of these relationships on the other. Although no ostensibly valid legal objection was proffered against the merits of legal recognition of same-sex rights, the memorandum observes that the Project Committee of the SALRC nevertheless considered it advisable from a policy viewpoint, not to disregard the strong objections against recognition. The concern for these objections was an important consideration in the Project Committee's striving to accommodate religious sentiments to the extent possible in the development of a further proposal. This proposal would embody a single comprehensive legislative scheme and not set out a range of options for the legislature.

The memorandum states that in terms of this proposal a new generic marriage act (to be called the Reformed Marriage Act) would be enacted to give legal

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