Love Not Hate condemns the blatantly discriminatory policy of the Beloftebos wedding venue in Stanford in the Western Cape, which continues to disallow same-sex couples from marrying on their premises.
The venue is not only violating the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000, but also South Africa’s constitutional values. While people are entitled to practice their religious beliefs, they cannot use these beliefs to infringe upon another persons’ fundamental rights by turning away members of certain groups protected by the Bill of Rights when providing a public service, such as a wedding venue.
The two engaged women, who have been discriminated against and humiliated, Sasha-Lee Heekes and Megan Watling, deserve better. They are not asking the venue’s owners to agree with their marriage or to personally marry them but simply to provide their venue as a place where they can celebrate their love and commitment, as offered to all other couples.
We urge all service providers to ensure that their business practices and policies are in line with the values enshrined in the Republic of South Africa’s Constitution of 1996.