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and inclusive moral citizenship[1] they articulate. They establish the following:
| (a) | Gays and lesbians are a permanent minority in society who in the past have suffered from patterns of disadvantage. Because they are a minority unable on their own to use political power to secure legislative advantages, they are exclusively reliant on the Bill of Rights for their protection.[2] | |
| (b) | The impact of discrimination on them has been severe, affecting their dignity, personhood and identity at many levels.[3] | |
| (c) | ‘The sting of past and continuing discrimination against both gays and lesbians’ lies in the message it conveys, namely that, viewed as individuals or in their same-sex relationships, they ‘do not have the inherent dignity and are not worthy of the human respect possessed by and accorded to heterosexuals and their relationships’. This ‘denies to gays and lesbians that which is foundational to our Constitution and the concepts of equality and dignity’, |
- ↑ National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice 1999 (1) SA 6 (CC) paras 107 and 127, per Sachs J.
- ↑ National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice 1999 (1) SA 6 (CC) para 25.
- ↑ National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice 1999 (1) SA 6 (CC) para 26(a).
