text: what is your opinion of the south african civil unions bill? yes, now gays can register a civil union. but we still cannot get married legally. is this just a continuation of apartheid (separate facilities for some groups), or should we accept the legislation? i agree with you to a degree.  first of all it is disgusting to me that south africa is so far ahead of the us in gay rights.  i think the state needs to get out of the marriage business. state sanctioned unions should have always been called something other than marriage.  to me marriage is a religious ritual....it is between me, the person i love, our community of faith and our god. why would the government need to be part of that?  civil unions grant the legal rights of a marriage and are appropriate for the state to perform.   of course, in reality the state is never going to stop doing straight marriages, so we deserve nothing short of equal treatment.