Page:Fourie v Minister of Home Affairs (SCA).djvu/11

		namely that ‘all persons have the same inherent worth and dignity’, whatever their other differences may be.[1]
(d)		Continuing discrimination against gays and lesbians must be assessed on the basis that marriage and the family are vital social institutions. The legal obligations arising from them perform important social functions.[2] They provide for security, support and companionship between members of our society and play a pivotal role in the rearing of children.[3]
(e)		Family life as contemplated by the Constitution can be constituted in different ways and legal conceptions of the family and what constitutes family life should change as social practices and traditions change.[4]
(f)		Permanent same-sex life partners are entitled to found their relationships in a manner that accords with their sexual orientation: such relationships should not be subject to unfair discrimination.[5]

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1. National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs 2000 (2) SA 1 (CC) para 42, per Ackermann J.
2. Dawood v Minister of Home Affairs 2000 (3) SA 936 (CC) para 31, per O'Regan J for the Court, applied in Satchwell v President of the Republic of South Africa 2002 (6) SA 1 (CC) para 13.
3. Du Toit v Minister of Welfare and Population Development 2003 (2) SA 198 (CC) para 19.
4. Du Toit v Minister of Welfare and Population Development 2003 (2) SA 198 (CC) para 19.
5. Satchwell v President of the Republic of South Africa 2002 (6) SA 1 (CC) para 15. See too National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Home Affairs 2000 (2) SA 1 (CC) para 82.